TY - JOUR

T1 - Mouse vendor influence on the bacterial and viral gut composition exceeds the effect of diet

AU - Rasmussen, Torben Sølbeck

AU - de Vries, Liv

AU - Kot, Witold

AU - Hansen, Lars Hestbjerg

AU - Castro-Mejía, Josué L.

AU - Vogensen, Finn Kvist

AU - Hansen, Axel Kornerup

AU - Nielsen, Dennis Sandris

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Often physiological studies using mice from one vendor show different outcome when being reproduced using mice from another vendor. These divergent phenotypes between similar mouse strains from different vendors have been assigned to differences in the gut microbiome. During recent years, evidence has mounted that the gut viral community plays a key role in shaping the gut microbiome and may thus also influence mouse phenotype. However, to date inter-vendor variation in the murine gut virome has not been studied. Using a metavirome approach, combined with 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we here compare the composition of the viral and bacterial gut community of C57BL/6N mice from three different vendors exposed to either a chow-based low-fat diet or high-fat diet. Interestingly, both the bacterial and the viral component of the gut community differed significantly between vendors. The different diets also strongly influenced both the viral and bacterial gut community, but surprisingly the effect of vendor exceeded the effect of diet. In conclusion, the vendor effect is substantial not only on the gut bacterial community but also strongly influences viral community composition. Given the effect of GM on mice phenotype, this is essential to consider for increasing reproducibility of mouse studies.

AB - Often physiological studies using mice from one vendor show different outcome when being reproduced using mice from another vendor. These divergent phenotypes between similar mouse strains from different vendors have been assigned to differences in the gut microbiome. During recent years, evidence has mounted that the gut viral community plays a key role in shaping the gut microbiome and may thus also influence mouse phenotype. However, to date inter-vendor variation in the murine gut virome has not been studied. Using a metavirome approach, combined with 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we here compare the composition of the viral and bacterial gut community of C57BL/6N mice from three different vendors exposed to either a chow-based low-fat diet or high-fat diet. Interestingly, both the bacterial and the viral component of the gut community differed significantly between vendors. The different diets also strongly influenced both the viral and bacterial gut community, but surprisingly the effect of vendor exceeded the effect of diet. In conclusion, the vendor effect is substantial not only on the gut bacterial community but also strongly influences viral community composition. Given the effect of GM on mice phenotype, this is essential to consider for increasing reproducibility of mouse studies.

KW - Animal model reproducibility

KW - Bacteriophages

KW - Gut microbiota

KW - Vendor effect

KW - Virome

U2 - 10.3390/v11050435

DO - 10.3390/v11050435

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31086117

AN - SCOPUS:85066256665

VL - 11

JO - Viruses

JF - Viruses

SN - 1999-4915

IS - 5

M1 - 435

ER -