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The microbiota of farmed mink (Neovison vison) follows a successional development and is affected by early life antibiotic exposure.

ABSTRACT: On many mink farms, antibiotics are used extensively during the lactation period to reduce the prevalence and severity of pre-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in mink kits (also referred to as greasy kit syndrome). Concerns have been raised, that routine treatment of PWD with antibiotics could affect the natural successional development of the gut microbiota, which may have long lasting consequences. Here we investigated the effects of early life antibiotic treatment administered for 1 week (postnatal days 13-20). Two routes of antibiotic administration were compared to a non-treated control group (CTR, n = 24). Routes of administration included indirect treatment, through the milk from dams receiving antibiotics by intramuscular administration (ABX_D, n = 24) and direct treatment by intramuscular administration to the kits (ABX_K, n = 24). A tendency for slightly increased weight at termination (Day 205) was observed in the ABX_K group. The gut microbiota composition was profiled by 16S rRNA gene sequencing at eight time points between Day 7 and Day 205. A clear successional development of the gut microbiota composition was observed and both treatment regimens caused detectable changes in the gut microbiota until at least eight days after treatment ceased. At termination, a significant positive correlation was identified between microbial diversity and animal weight.

SUBMITTER: Bahl MI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7686315 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Animal personality research is receiving increasing interest from related fields, such as evolutionary personality psychology. By merging the conceptual understanding of personality, the contributions to both fields of research may be enhanced. In this study, we investigate animal personality based on the definition of personality traits as underlying dispositional factors, which are not directly measurable, but which predispose individuals to react through different behavioural patterns. We investigated the shyness-boldness continuum reflected in the consistency of inter-individual variation in behavioural responses towards novelty in 47 farmed American mink (Neovison vison), which were raised in identical housing conditions. Different stages of approach behaviour towards novelty, and how these related within and across contexts, were explored. Our experimental design contained four tests: two novel object tests (non-social contexts) and two novel animated stimuli tests (social contexts). Our results showed consistency in shyness measures across multiple tests, indicating the existence of personality in farmed American mink. It was found that consistency in shyness measures differs across non-social and social contexts, as well as across the various stages in the approach towards novel objects, revealing that different aspects of shyness exist in the farmed American mink. To our knowledge this is the first study to reveal aspects of the shyness-boldness continuum in the American mink. Since the mink were raised in identical housing conditions, inherited factors may have been important in shaping the consistent inter-individual variation. Body weight and sex had no effect on the personality of the mink. Altogether, our results suggest that the shyness-boldness continuum cannot be explained by a simple underlying dispositional factor, but instead encompasses a broader term of hesitating behaviour that might comprise several different personality traits.

Project description:The gastrointestinal microbiome is known to play a critical role in animal health but has been relatively poorly characterized in commercial mink, an obligate carnivore. Whether the microbiota can be manipulated in mink to improve pelt quality, health, and well-being is unknown. The objectives of this study were to characterize the fecal microbiota of commercial mink, and to evaluate potential changes due to year (2014 vs 2015), life stage (adult female vs weaned kit), season (summer vs winter), and between Canadian farms. Pooled fecal samples were collected from adult females and weaned kits in the summers of 2014 (n = 173) and 2015 (n = 168), and from females in the winter of 2016 (n = 39), a time when females undergo marked calorie restriction, from 49 mink farms in Ontario. Bacterial DNA was extracted and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified. Approximately 22 million sequences were identified following quality control filtering. A total of 31 bacterial phyla were identified; however, only 3 comprised >1% of the total sequences identified, with Firmicutes and Proteobacteria together comprising 95% of the total sequences. Comparisons were made by life stage, season and year; no differences were found in the relative abundance of any taxa between samples collected from adult females and weaned kits from the same year and the greatest number of differences at each taxonomic level were noted between 2014 and 2015. Significantly more operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found in 2014 than 2015 or 2016 (p<0.05) and samples from 2014 were more even, but less diverse than in 2015 (p = 0.002 and 0.001, respectively). There were significant differences in community population and structure by year and season (all p-values <0.001). The predominant phyla and genera at the farm level were similar from year to year. Together, these indicate that mink environment, season, and time are important factors in the stability of gastrointestinal microbiota, once mink reach maturity.

Project description:BackgroundFor proper treatment of bacterial infections in mink, knowledge of the causative agents and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns is crucial. The used antimicrobials are in general not registered for mink, i.e. most usage is "off-label". In this study, we report the patterns of antimicrobial resistance among pathogenic bacteria isolated from Danish mink during the period 2014-2016. The aim of this investigation was to provide data on antimicrobial resistance and consumption, to serve as background knowledge for new veterinary guidelines for prudent and optimal antimicrobial usage in mink.ResultsA total number of 308 Escherichia coli isolates, 41 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 36 Streptococcus canis, 30 Streptococcus dysgalactiae, 55 Staphylococcus delphini, 9 Staphylococcus aureus, and 20 Staphylococcus schleiferi were included in this study. Among E. coli, resistance was observed more frequently among the hemolytic isolates than among the non-hemolytic ones. The highest frequency of resistance was found to ampicillin, 82.3% and 48.0% of the hemolytic of the non-hemolytic isolates, respectively. The majority of the P. aeruginosa isolates were only sensitive to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Among the Staphylococcus spp., the highest occurrence of resistance was found for tetracycline. Regarding the nine S. aureus, one isolate was resistant to cefoxitin indicating it was a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Both ?-hemolytic Streptococcus species showed high levels of resistance to tetracycline and erythromycin. The antimicrobial consumption increased significantly during 2007-2012, and fluctuated at a high level during 2012-2016, except for a temporary drop in 2013-2014. The majority of the prescribed antimicrobials were aminopenicillins followed by tetracyclines and macrolides.ConclusionsThe study showed that antimicrobial resistance was common in most pathogenic bacteria from mink, in particular hemolytic E. coli. There is a need of guidelines for prudent use of antimicrobials for mink.

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The microbiota of farmed mink (Neovison vison) follows a successional development and is affected by early life antibiotic exposure.

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