Effects of prenatal and continued postnatal probiotic treatment on physiological and behavioural outcomes with implications for the stress response

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The composition of the gut microbiome (bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit the gut) has been**shown to influence behaviour and thus, raises the question of how gut bacteria affect the brain to achieve this.**Lallemand Health Solutions (Montreal, Canada) have made steady progress in producing safe probiotics (e.g.,**Lacidofil®, Probio'Stick®) that have beneficial effects on stress-related gut and mood outcomes. The gut**microbiome is influenced by diet and stress, both of which can have transgenerational effects, meaning that**parental diet and stress can program offspring outcomes. While Lallemand recognizes the potential for their**products to have such effects, presently they lack the in-house expertise to investigate this using in vivo animal**model that are capable of addressing how this occurs with respect to mechanisms in the mom and offspring.**Lallemand requires the expertise, facilities, and animal models that are routinely used in the Perrot lab to: 1)**investigate the impact of probiotic supplementation on both the brain and behaviour of offspring exposed to**early-life stress and unhealthy diet; and 2) examine if probiotic supplementation of mothers influences maternal**care behaviours and provides protective effects to the offspring (i.e., decreased stress responding, a reduction in**inflammation, fewer anxiety-like behaviours) against stress. Two experiments have been completed to address**these questions. Preliminary results show that probiotic supplementation to mother rats during pregnancy and**nursing increases the quality of the care she provides to her young, who in turn show slightly lower weight gain**by weaning, even when exposed to a high-fat diet. Funds are requested to complete the scoring of**anxiety-related behaviour in the offspring as well as analyze stress- and metabolic-related measures in various**tissues including brain and gut. These results will provide critical information for Lallemand to more**effectively market their probiotics and increase their market share among specific segments of the population.**It will also lay the foundation for a continued collaboration between Dalhousie University and Lallemand to**continue investigation of the beneficial effects of probiotics for Canadians.