Next Generation Probiotics - ‘Omics-based Identification of Candidate Bacteria’
Start date
December 2023End date
September 2026Overview
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
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
Biography
Chris Proudman graduated from Cambridge University Vet School in 1988 and was awarded a PhD in Equine Epidemiology from University of Liverpool in 1996. His academic career has embraced teaching equine medicine and surgery, equine intestinal disease research and various leadership roles at the University of Liverpool.
He has a long-standing involvement with the horseracing industry, including veterinary work on racecourses in Northwest England and membership of the Horserace Betting Levy Board's veterinary advisory committee.
Appointed as Head of the University of Surrey's new Vet School in 2013, he leads the development and delivery of a 21st century curriculum focussed on graduate confidence and competence, and on innovation in animal health. His current research work focusses on the role of the horse's gut bacteria in intestinal health and disease.
Co-investigator
Professor Roberto La Ragione
Interim Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (FHMS), Professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology
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.
Research team
Research Fellow
Jack Whitehouse
Research Fellow in Equine Microbiology
Biography
Jack graduated in 2018 with a bachelors degree in Human Biosciences from the University of Northampton and then went on to study for a Masters of Research in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Birmingham. While at the University of Birmingham, Jack investigated the protein LpqF in Mycobacterium bovis BCG, Mycobacterium smegmatis, and Mycobacterium marinum. LpqF was identified as a penicillin binding protein (PBP) belonging to Mycobacterium PBP major redundancy system. In 2020 Jack moved to the School of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Surrey, to undertake a PhD on the pathogenesis of Cutaneous and Renal Glomerular Vasculopathy, also commonly known as Alabama Rot, which was completed following a successful thesis defence in 2024. In April 2023 Jack undertook a Scientific Project Manager position for the One Health European Joint Project working with PhD students and academics. Jack then began his first research fellow position with the Horse Gut Microbiome Research Group investigating the next generation of probiotics for improving equine health and has since become a Fellow with the Institute for Sustainability. His current research interests focus on the pathogenesis of bacterial pathogens and understanding their role in disease processes.
Statistical consultant
Dr Alex Couto Alves
Lecturer in Bioinformatics and Statistical Genomics
Biography
Our research aims at identifying genes that contribute to individual variation in the risk of complex disease. We work towards this aim by
- Mapping genomic regions contributing to disease risk, and
- Developing systems genetic approaches to identify genes and pathways under the control of these genetic risk factors.
Our work finds application in precision medicine, public health, and drug development.
We have a particular interest in longitudinal phenotypes, such as BMI and its relation to childhood obesity. We identified genes regulating variation in children’s growth and discovered two distinct genetic components for infant and child BMI. We were awarded funds for one PhD Project to expand this work in collaboration with Surrey’s Math department, Southampton University, and the Born in Bradford Study. We work in articulation with the Early Growth Genetics consortium, where we contribute to the longitudinal phenotypes group. Through our collaboration with Prof. Andre Gerber, we develop systems genetics approaches to understand the contribution of post-transcriptional regulation to the downstream effects of genetic risk factors.
Statistical consultant
Dr Carla Moller-Levet
Experimental Officer in Bioinformatics
Research collaborator
Dr Arnoud van Vliet
Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Microbiology
Biography
Arnoud graduated in 1991 from Utrecht University, The Netherlands, studying Medical Biology. He obtained his PhD in 1995 from the Veterinary Microbiology department of the Utrecht University, working on molecular characterisation and detection of the tick-borne ruminant pathogen Cowdria (Ehrlichia) ruminantium. For his postdoc, he moved to the Department of Genetics of the University of Leicester, UK, working on gene regulation and virulence of the zoonotic foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni.
He then obtained a personal fellowship in 1999 from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to work on metal metabolism, gene regulation in the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, first at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and subsequently as lecturer at the Erasmus MC-University Medical Center in Rotterdam. In 2007, he took up a position as Research Leader at the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK, where he has led a research group focusing on the foodborne pathogens Campylobacter and Listeria, combining microbiology, molecular biology, genomics and other 'omics with bioinformatic technologies, to understand the processes allowing these bacteria to survive in the food chain and cause illness.
Arnoud has been with the Surrey Vet School as Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Microbiology since October 2016. Here he has established the genomics/bioinformatics infrastructure, working with on genomics of microbial pathogens, as well as collaborating with other Surrey research groups on a diverse range of pathogenic organisms (microbial and eukaryotic) as well as microbiome research.
Research groups and centres
Our research is supported by research groups and centres of excellence.
Research themes
Find out more about our research at Surrey: