Continuation of an FHL discussion: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/message/17383 Yes, but in the note that you sent to me you mentioned something I'd missed learning about: the useful bacterial products in the blood and their sheer volume. Microbiomes work is showing the ways many bacteria help mammals (even some bacteria which are pathogenic under other circumstances including Helicobacter in humans so perhaps also Helicobacter in ferrets). This is a newly emerging medical field, and for some it might seem counterintuitive until they think about it enough (just like the work in oncological nutrition showing that some malignancies can be better tackled by limiting certain nutrients that are specific to the individual type of malignancy and the human cell types from which it was derived). There are multiple new medical fields which are improving medical approaches by leaps and bounds. Another is Evolutionary Medicine which looks at how things got to be like they are and can not only point to origins of why structures are as they are, therefore leading to problems like retained testicles, hernias, lower back pain, carpel tunnel, etc. but also can therefore help find solutions. (There are also a lot of advances recently in established fields like endocrinology and orthopedic surgery which can take advantage of advances not only in medical and biological knowledge but also in technology.) Anyway, microbiome work is turning out to be hot enough that a search on PubMed will bring up something like 2,000 articles (much in humans and rodents): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=microbiome The only one involving ferrets -- and a wide range of other animals -- is a microbiology study of animal bite infections that looks in part at the oral microbiomes of the biters: http://cmr.asm.org/content/24/2/231.long but the useful part in the future can be knowing what the healthy oral microbiome of ferrets looks like as opposed to the unhealthy for their own oral health. Some very recent articles come up for cats and dogs which is intriguing here -- since they might lead to asking the right questions for ferret health -- because knowing more about the GI microbiomes of animals who are obligate carnivores (Meaning that meats/organs/skin. etc are strongly needed, not that they are the sole nutrition source.) and animals which lack appendixes (which I think may apply to cats or dogs or both just as it does to ferrets?) may lead to better approaches for ferret health as well, including IBD and obesity control. The way that a number of the delicate bacteria normally in the guts can be found -- since they don't survive to be found by use of scopes -- is modern DNA sequencing. (Do notice that microbiomes also reflect what has been eaten and with what species the animals live.) so it actually would have been technologically impossible to do much of this work until very recently: BEGIN QUOTES: J Microbiol Methods. 2012 Mar;88(3):369-76. Epub 2012 Jan 12. Gene-centric metagenomics analysis of feline intestinal microbiomeusing 454 junior pyrosequencing. Tun HM, Brar MS, Khin N, Jun L, Hui RK, Dowd SE, Leung FC. Source School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Abstract The feline gastrointestinal microbiota have direct influence on feline health and also human health as a reservoir for potential zoonotic pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. In order to describe the feline gastrointestinal microbial diversity, fecal samples from cats have been characterized using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. However, data correlating total microbial composition and their functions are lacking. Present descriptive study evaluated both phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of the feline intestinal microbiota using GS Junior titanium shotgun pyrosequencing. A total of 152,494 pyrosequencing reads (5405 assembled contigs) were generated and classified into both phylogenetic and metabolic profiles of the feline intestinal microbiota. The Bacteroides/Chlorobi group was the most predominant bacterial phylum comprising ~68% of total classified diversity, followed by Firmicutes (~13%) and Proteobacteria (~6%) respectively. Archaea, fungi and viruses made up the minor communities in the overall microbial diversity. Interestingly, this study also identified a range of potential enteric zoonotic pathogens (0.02-1.25%) and genes involved in antimicrobial resistance (0.02-0.7%) in feline fecal materials. Based on clustering among nine gastrointestinal metagenomes from five different monogastric hosts (dog, human, mice, cat and chicken), the cat metagenome clustered closely together with chicken in both phylogenetic and metabolic level (>80%). Future studies are required to provide deeper understandings on both intrinsic and extrinsic effects such as impact of age, genetics and dietary interventions on the composition of the feline gastrointestinal microbiome. Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PMID: 22265636 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] J Anim Sci. 2011 May;89(5):1520-30. Epub 2010 Nov 12. Companion animals symposium: microbes and gastrointestinal health of dogs and cats. Suchodolski JS. Source Gastrointestinal Laboratory, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4474, USA. Abstract Recent molecular studies have revealed complex bacterial, fungal, archaeal, and viral communities in the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and cats. More than 10 bacterial phyla have been identified, with Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Actinobacteria constituting more than 99% of all gut microbiota. Microbes act as a defending barrier against invading pathogens, aid in digestion, provide nutritional support for enterocytes, and play a crucial role in the development of the immune system. Of significance for gastrointestinal health is their ability to ferment dietary substrates into short-chain fatty acids, predominantly to acetate, propionate, and butyrate. However, microbes can have also a detrimental effect on host health. Specific pathogens (e.g., Salmonella, Campylobacter jejuni, and enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens) have been implicated in acute and chronic gastrointestinal disease. Compositional changes in the small intestinal microbiota, potentially leading to changes in intestinal permeability and digestive function, have been suggested in canine small intestinal dysbiosis or antibiotic-responsive diarrhea. There is mounting evidence that microbes play an important role in the pathogenesis of canine and feline inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Current theories for the development of IBD favor a combination of environmental factors, the intestinal microbiota, and a genetic susceptibility of the host. Recent studies have revealed a genetic susceptibility for defective bacterial clearance in Boxer dogs with granulomatous colitis. Differential expression of pathogen recognition receptors (i.e., Toll-like receptors) were identified in dogs with chronic enteropathies. Similarly to humans, a microbial dysbiosis has been identified in feline and canine IBD. Commonly observed microbial changes are increased Proteobacteria (i.e., Escherichia coli) with concurrent decreases in Firmicutes, especially a reduced diversity in Clostridium clusters XIVa and IV (i.e., Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Faecalibacterium spp.). This would indicate that these bacterial groups, important short-chain fatty acid producers, may play an important role in promoting intestinal health. PMID: 21075970 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Free full text http://jas.fass.org/content/89/5/1520.long J Anim Sci. 2011 May;89(5):1498-505. Epub 2010 Oct 29. Companion animals symposium: role of microbes in canine and feline health. Kil DY, Swanson KS. Source Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Abstract Whether in an ocean reef, a landfill, or a gastrointestinal tract (GIT), invisible communities of highly active and adaptable microbes prosper. Over time, mammals have developed a symbiosis with microbes that are important inhabitants not only in the GIT, but also in the mouth, skin, and urogenital tract. In the GIT, the number of commensal microbes exceeds the total number of host cells by at least 10 times. The GIT microbes play a critical role in nutritional, developmental, defensive, and physiologic processes in the host. Recent evidence also suggests a role of GIT microbes in metabolic phenotype and disease risk (e.g., obesity, metabolic syndrome) of the host. Proper balance is a key to maintaining GIT health. Balanced microbial colonization is also important for other body regions such as the oral cavity, the region with the greatest prevalence of disease in dogs and cats. A significant obstruction to studying microbial populations has been the lack of tools to identify and quantify microbial communities accurately and efficiently. Most of the current knowledge of microbial populations has been established by traditional cultivation methods that are not only laborious, time-consuming, and often inaccurate, but also greatly limited in scope. However, recent advances in molecular-based techniques have resulted in a dramatic improvement in studying microbial communities. These DNA-based high-throughput technologies have enabled us to more clearly characterize the identity and metabolic activity of microbes living in the host and their association with health and diseases. Despite this recent progress, however, published data pertaining to microbial communities of dogs and cats are still lacking in comparison with data in humans and other animals. More research is required to provide a more detailed description of the canine and feline microbiomeand its role in health and disease. PMID: 21036940 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Free full text http://jas.fass.org/content/89/5/1498.long END QUOTES People here can use this resource: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed The reason that not having an appendix can backfire is that in those species with an appendix the normal intestinal flora sequester there, so when there are die-offs from illness the population in the appendix can gradually repopulate the rest of the intestine. Much of intestinal health in any species is having the right bacteria present in the right proportion. (And that MIGHT apply also to some non-bacterial microflora.) They have to be the right species and subspecies of bacteria, too -- just speaking as someone who has been reading a lot and who had three months of diarrhea when in college decades ago due to picking up a chimp version of E. coli from some chimps with whom I worked closely for about 4 years which warred with the normal human version, leading to population explosions and crashes till the human version finally won. BTW, the gut is not the only place where there are symbiotic microflora. The mouth has them, the skin has them, the vagina has them, etc. (repeat: etc.). (In fact, if one common genus in the mammalian vagina (beta hemolytic strep) goes into the urethra bladder bleeding can result.) Sukie (not a vet) Ferrets make the world a game. Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html "All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow." (2010, Steve Crandall) On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall) [Posted in FML 7467]