Browsing by Author "Ward, Tonya"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Data from "Diverse Bacterial Communities Exist on Canine Skin and are Impacted by Cohabitation and Time"
    (2016-11-17) Johnson, Timothy; Torres, Sheila; Danzeisen, Jessica; Clayton, Jonathan; Ward, Tonya; Knights, Dan; Huang, Hu; joh04207@umn.edu; Johnson, Timothy
    This related study sampled 40 dogs from 20 households over the course of three seasons. Three skin sites were examined. The goal of the study was to determine if a core skin microbiome exists in dogs across time and body site, and if cohabitation impacts sharing of the skin microbiome. This dataset is a part of the Torres_Johnson Canine Microbiome Study.
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    Vaccination Against Lawsonia intracellularis Decreases Shedding of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in Co-Infected Pigs and Alters the Gut Microbiome
    (2017-11-09) Leite, Fernando L L; Singer, Randall S; Ward, Tonya; Gebhart, Connie J; Isaacson, Richard E; isaac015@umn.edu; Isaacson, Richard
    Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide and pork can serve a source of infection. In this study, we investigated if vaccinating pigs against Lawsonia intracellularis, a common pathogen of swine that has previously been shown to favor Salmonella enterica infection, confers protection against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. We investigated the underlying changes in the gut microbiome mediated by single S. Typhiumurium infection compared to co-infection with L. intracellularis as well as the effect of vaccination on the microbiome. In this study, a total of five treatment groups were used: 1) challenged with S. Typhimurium alone (Sal), 2) challenged with both S. Typhimurium and L. intracellularis (Sal Law), 3) challenged with S. Typhimurium and vaccinated against L. intracellularis (Sal Vac), 4) challenged with both S. Typhimurium and L. intracellularis and vaccinated against L. intracellularis (Sal Law Vac), and 5) non-infected control (Control).
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    Wild Primate Gut Microbiota Protect Against Obesity
    (2017-04) Sidiropoulos, Dimitrios, N; Clayton, Jonathan; Al-Ghalith, Gabe; Shields-Cutler, Robin; Ward, Tonya; Blekhman, Ran; Kashyap, Purna; Knights, Dan
    The gastrointestinal tract hosts trillions of bacteria that play major roles in metabolism, immune system development, and pathogen resistance. Although there is increasing evidence that low dietary fiber in Westernized societies is associated with dramatic loss of natural human gut microbiome diversity, the role of this loss in obesity and inflammation is not well understood. Non-human primates (NHPs) can be used as model systems for studying the effects of diet and lifestyle disruption on the human gut microbiome. Captive primates are typically exposed to low-fiber diets and tend to have human-associated microbiota in place of their native microbiota. In order to explore interactions between the gut microbiota and dietary fiber, we transplanted captive and wild primate gut microbiota into germ-free mice and then exposed them to either a high- or low-fiber diet. We found that the group receiving low-fiber diet and captive primate microbiota became obese and had high levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines, while mice receiving high-fiber diet and wild primate microbiota remained healthy. Mice with the wild primate microbiota and low-fiber diet acquired intermediate levels of obesity, demonstrating an interaction between dietary fiber and the microbiota. These results show that the modern human gut microbiome interacts with low-fiber diets to cause inflammation and obesity, and suggest a possible clinical role for manipulation of the microbiota in the treatment of obesity.