Through the use of genetic tools, researchers have identified naturally occurring bacteria that appear to consume lactic acid thus maintaining gastro-intestinal balance in animals under high starch conditions. These bacteria may provide the "right" microbial participants to prevent or minimize the extent of laminitis in horses and ruminant livestock. Preliminary data verifies that the in vitro system models fluctuations in bacterial metabolites seen in the horse gut during starch-induced laminitis and enables the tracking of bacterial populations over time. One group of bacteria, the Veillonellaceae, show promise as a probiotic for the ability to utilize lactic acid, which is known to increase during starch induction, and thought to be implicated in the metabolic cascade leading to laminitis. The research team has isolated strains of Veillonellaceae with potential to utilize lactate and withstand low pH and storage conditions. This proposal supports further work to: a) use the in vitro system to demonstrate that isolated strains, individually and in mixtures, can prevent or ameliorate microbial changes characteristic of starch induced acidosis (laminitis) in horse and cattle GI samples; b) conduct dose titration studies to determine effective concentrations of strains or mixtures and; c) determine the robustness of effective strains, namely growth rate on selective media, oxygen tolerance, and lyophilization stability (desiccation tolerance). The anticipated outcome for this project is a prototype formulation ready for testing on either an animal model of induced lactic acidosis or a cohort of volunteer clinical cases with chronic pasture laminitis.
A new understanding of the microbial dynamics underlying lactic acidosis and laminitis may lead to better informed models of health, improved feed formulations and management practices, and the development of a probiotic treatment for affected horses that can be used to prevent and/or treat a condition affecting millions of horses annually. These bacteria can be incorporated into animal feed to protect from the fermentative events that trigger laminitis and this could potentially help improve beef and dairy production by decreasing the number of cases of laminitis among cattle, as well as reducing medical costs for horse owners.
