Gut-Brain Axis Impact on Canine Anxiety Disorders: New Challenges for Behavioral Veterinary Medicine.

Anxiety disorders in dogs are ever-growing and represent an important concern in the veterinary behavior field. These disorders are often disregarded in veterinary clinical practice, negatively impacting the animal's and owner's quality of life. Moreover, these anxiety disorders can potentially result in the abandonment or euthanasia of dogs. Growing evidence shows that the gut microbiota is a central player in the gut-brain axis. A variety of microorganisms inhabit the intestines of dogs, which are essential in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. These microbes can impact mental health through several mechanisms, including metabolic, neural, endocrine, and immune-mediated pathways. The disruption of a balanced composition of resident commensal communities, or dysbiosis, is implicated in several pathological conditions, including mental disorders such as anxiety. Studies carried out in rodent models and humans demonstrate that the intestinal microbiota can influence mental health through these mechanisms, including anxiety disorders. Furthermore, novel therapeutic strategies using prebiotics and probiotics have been shown to ameliorate anxiety-related symptoms. However, regarding the canine veterinary behavior field, there is still a lack of insightful research on this topic. In this review, we explore the few but relevant studies performed on canine anxiety disorders. We agree that innovative bacterial therapeutical approaches for canine anxiety disorders will become a promising field of investigation and certainly pave the way for new approaches to these behavioral conditions.

Enzyme Promiscuity in Serotonin Biosynthesis, From Bacteria to Plants and Humans.

Serotonin is a phylogenetically ancient compound found in animals, plants, and some bacteria. In eukaryotes, serotonin is synthesized from the aromatic amino acid tryptophan via the key enzymes aromatic amino acid hydroxylase (AAAH) and aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AAAD). Serotonin is also an intermediate in the melatonin biosynthetic pathway and is involved in several vital functions. In humans, serotonin is produced in the gut and in the brain, is critical in the regulation of multiple body functions, and its depletion has been implicated in multiple neurological disorders including depression and Alzheimer's disease, as well as other peripheral conditions namely irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia. The serotonin biosynthetic pathway is well described in eukaryotes, but very little is known about this pathway in bacteria. Evidence points to similar pathways since eukaryote-like AAAH and AAAD (and their genes) have been identified in multiple bacteria, even though serotonin production has not yet been detected in most species. Although data on bacterial tryptophan decarboxylase genes are very limited and no bacterial tryptophan hydroxylase genes have been identified to date, evidence suggests that serotonin production in bacteria might occur through different AAAH and AAAD. Substrate promiscuity in these enzymes has been previously reported and seems to be the key aspect in bacterial serotonin synthesis. Considering the human gut microbiota as a potential source of serotonin, further investigation on its biosynthetic pathways in microbes might lead to important discoveries, which may ultimately foster the development of new therapeutic strategies to treat serotonin depletion-related disorders in humans.

A rapid and reliable alternative to ISO 21528-1:2004 for detection of Enterobacteriaceae.

Current legislation in Europe uses the Enterobacteriaceae as a parameter in process hygiene criteria for various food products and refers to the corresponding ISO standard (ISO 21528-1:2004) as mandatory analytical method for this purpose. The ISO procedure includes an enrichment step in EE ("Enterobacteriaceae Enrichment") broth, but it has been reported recently that some isolates of Enterobacteriaceae do not grow well or will even die off in this broth, which could lead to false negative results. To determine if this trait is common among the Enterobacteriaceae, a collection of 95 strains was screened for growth in EE broth. Inhibition was observed with 9 strains (7 Cronobacter sakazakii, 1 Cronobacter malonaticus and 1 Enterobacter amnigenus). Factors affecting cell death were found to be related mainly to the inclusion of bile salts and dyes in this medium. In a second step, an alternative method omitting the EE broth was evaluated using 326 samples, comprising 8 different food matrices and environmental samples from the corresponding manufacturing sites. Positive results were obtained for 235 samples using the ISO standard method and 232 samples using the alternative shortened method. No significant difference was found between the results for the two methods. It is proposed that the standard method for detection of Enterobacteriaceae is revised accordingly.

Identification of "Cronobacter" spp. (Enterobacter sakazakii).

A taxonomic reclassification of the neonatal pathogen Enterobacter sakazakii to consist of five species within a new genus, "Cronobacter," has recently been proposed. The correct identification of these organisms is important to clinicians. Therefore, using 312 Enterobacteriaceae, including 210 "Cronobacter" strains, the reliabilities of biochemical and genetic confirmation tests were investigated. All "Cronobacter" isolates were positive using dnaG and gluA PCR protocols, and all expressed alpha-glucosidase activity. ID32E v3.0 identified 99.5% of "Cronobacter" isolates (as the nearest match to E. sakazakii).

The taxonomy of Enterobacter sakazakii: proposal of a new genus Cronobacter gen. nov. and descriptions of Cronobacter sakazakii comb. nov. Cronobacter sakazakii subsp. sakazakii, comb. nov., Cronobacter sakazakii subsp. malonaticus subsp. nov., Cronobacter turicensis sp. nov., Cronobacter muytjensii sp. nov., Cronobacter dublinensis sp. nov. and Cronobacter genomospecies 1.

BACKGROUND: Enterobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause infections such as necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteraemia, meningitis and brain abscess/lesions. When the species was defined in 1980, 15 biogroups were described and it was suggested that these could represent multiple species. In this study the taxonomic relationship of strains described as E. sakazakii was further investigated. RESULTS: Strains identified as E. sakazakii were divided into separate groups on the basis of f-AFLP fingerprints, ribopatterns and full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences. DNA-DNA hybridizations revealed five genomospecies. The phenotypic profiles of the genomospecies were determined and biochemical markers identified. CONCLUSION: This study clarifies the taxonomy of E. sakazakii and proposes a reclassification of these organisms.