Metabolome-Informed Microbiome Analysis Refines Metadata Classifications and Reveals Unexpected Medication Transfer in Captive Cheetahs.

ABSTRACT: Even high-quality collection and reporting of study metadata in microbiome studies can lead to various forms of inadvertently missing or mischaracterized information that can alter the interpretation or outcome of the studies, especially with nonmodel organisms. Metabolomic profiling of fecal microbiome samples can provide empirical insight into unanticipated confounding factors that are not possible to obtain even from detailed care records. We illustrate this point using data from cheetahs from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The metabolomic characterization indicated that one cheetah had to be moved from the non-antibiotic-exposed group to the antibiotic-exposed group. The detection of the antibiotic in this second cheetah was likely due to grooming interactions with the cheetah that was

SUBMITTER: Gauglitz JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7065514 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature