Next Generation Probiotics - ‘Omics-based Identification of Candidate Bacteria’

Identify and characterise candidate probiotic bacteria in the foal gut microbiota associated with health and racing performance.

Start date

December 2023

End date

September 2026

Overview

Gut microbiota colonisation begins in early life and contributes to various microbe-host and microbe-microbe interactions that are beneficial for host health. There is little convincing evidence of efficacy for many probiotics currently fed to horses, many of which are re-purposed probiotics developed for humans. It is highly likely that beneficial gut microbes for horses are different to those that are beneficial for humans. To address these gaps, this study is designed to grow and to characterise bacteria from the gut of foals in their first year of life. We will use metagenomic sequencing and health data modelling to identifying bacterial genera or species associated with enhanced long-term health.

Hypothesis

The gut microbial communities of healthy foals contain species of bacteria that have the potential to be developed as probiotics that can be fed to foals to enhance long-term health and performance.

Funding amount

£321 K

Funder

Horserace Betting Levy Board

Aims and objectives

Identify bacterial species associated with the healthy equine gut microbiota through metagenomic sequencing and that are associated with positive health outcomes (e.g., respiratory and/ or gastrointestinal).
Use an evidenced based culturomics approach to target bacterial species associated with positive healthy outcomes.
Subject identified bacterial isolates pre-liminary phenotypic characterisation including but not limited to, antibiotic resistance determination.
Characterise bacterial isolates through genotypic analysis to establish their safety and utility as candidate probiotics.
Subject identified bacterial isolates to phenotypic characterisation in line with European Food Standard Agency regulations to determine preliminary safety and utility as candidate probiotics.

The study will build on the discoveries of the Alborada Well Foal Study. Using metagenomic sequencing data from 20 foals over 9 time points, we will identify potential candidate probiotics for equine health. The project is designed to ensure o

Summary of the objectives of this project under the headings bioinformatics, culturomics, genomics and phenomics.

Team

Principal Investigator

Professor Christopher Proudman

Professor of Veterinary Clinical Science

Co-investigator

Professor Roberto La Ragione

Professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Head of the School of Biosciences

Biography

Roberto graduated in 1995 and then went on to study for a post graduate degree in veterinary microbiology at the Royal Veterinary College (University of London). In 1996 he moved to the government's Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) to undertake a PhD on the pathogenesis of E. coli in poultry. On completion of his PhD studies, Roberto commenced a post-doctoral position at Royal Holloway, University of London, studying E. coli virulence factors and vaccine development.

Since 2001 his work has focused largely on the analysis of the colonisation, shedding and transmission of E. coli O157:H7 by all farmed animal species and he has led a number of commercial, Defra, research council (BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, AHRC, Innovate) and EU projects in this area. He has published extensively in the area of host-microbe interaction with a particular emphasis on E. coli and Salmonella.

His current research interests focus on the pathogenesis of food-borne pathogens with a particular interest on AMR and the development of intervention strategies including vaccination, pre and probiotics for the control of bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella, Brachyspira and E. coli in food producing animals.

In 2005, Roberto was appointed Head of Pathogenesis and Control at the AHVLA and in 2010 he was appointed Professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology at the University of Surrey. He gained the FRCPath in 2010 and in 2012 was appointed the Associate Dean for Veterinary Strategy in the new School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey. In 2014 he was appointed to the position of Head of the Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases and Director of the Veterinary Pathology Centre. In 2019 he was appointed Deputy Head of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey. In 2021 he was appointed Head of the School of Biosciences.

He is the past president of the Med-Vet-Net Association and the Veterinary Research Club, the current Chair of the Humanimal Trust, a Trustee of the Houghton Trust, a member of the APHA Science Advisory Board, a member of the FSA ACMSF AMR sub-committee and the Chair of the Royal College of Pathologists Veterinary Pathology SAC. Roberto is an Associate member of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology and in 2020 he was awarded Honorary Associateship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In 2023, Roberto was awarded the RCPath College Medal.

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