Equine gut health: identifying behavioural, physiological and microbiome biomarkers associated with ulcers and inflammation in horse populations

在管理的马（和其他马科动物）中，与马胃肠道（GI）炎症相关的疾病（包括胃溃疡、高寄生虫负荷和肠炎/结肠炎）是广泛的健康和福利问题。我们目前不知道这些问题在自由放养的人群中有多普遍。该项目将使用压力和炎症标志物，寄生虫和微生物组分析的组合来比较集中管理和自由放养的马种群的胃肠道健康。这些信息可用于指导马胃肠道系统的管理，并了解未管理的马肠道如何应对环境和季节性挑战。目标：本项目将使用风险因素和肠道生物标志物的综合评估，以：1）验证并进一步开发肠道炎症标志物和微生物群落变化与临床确认的病理的应用，和2）将（1）中验证的生物标志物应用于管理和自由放养的马中响应寄生虫、应激、微生物组和饮食的胃肠炎症的变异。研究设计：该研究分为两个部分：A）学生将验证诊断为急性胃肠道炎症（严重胃溃疡，高寄生虫负担和结肠炎）的马的炎症和微生物生物标志物。从初始诊断到治疗和恢复后，将监测马的炎症标志物和微生物组的变化。B）然后，学生将监测三个种群中炎症性肠道生物标志物的变化：1）集中管理的运动马，2）半集中管理的休闲马，以及3）自由放养的半野生小马种群。对于自由放养的人群，学生将进行观察数据，并收集样品从斯诺登尼亚国家公园的马德道山小马。这些小马已经被研究了十多年，我们以前的研究表明：1）寄生虫负荷是高度可变的，2）皮质醇和粪便氧化应激对压力源有反应，3）微生物群落结构在整个种群中随时间和空间而变化

In managed horses (and other equids), disorders associated with inflammation in the equine gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including gastric ulcers, high parasite burdens and enteritis/colitis are widespread health and welfare issues. We currently do not know how prevalent these issues are in free-ranging populations. This project will use a combination of stress and inflammatory markers, parasite and microbiome analyses to compare gastrointestinal health in both intensively managed and free-ranging horse populations. This information can be used to guide management of horse GI systems and to understand how unmanaged horse guts respond to environmental and seasonal challenges.Objectives: This project will use an integrated evaluation of risk factors and gut biomarkers to: 1) validate and further develop the application of gut inflammation markers and microbiome community changes with clinically confirmed pathologies, and 2) apply the biomarkers validated in (1) to characterise variation in gastrointestinal inflammation in managed and free-ranging horses in response to parasites, stress, microbiome and diet. Study design: The study is divided into two parts: A) The student will validate inflammatory and microbial biomarkers in horses with diagnosed acute GI inflammation (severe gastric ulceration, high parasite burdens and colitis). Horses will be monitored for changes in inflammation markers and microbiome from initial diagnosis through treatment and post recovery. B) The student will then monitor changes in inflammatory gut biomarkers across three populations: 1) intensively managed sport horses, 2) semi-intensively managed leisure horses, and 3) a population of free-ranging semi-feral ponies. For the free-ranging population, the student will conduct observational data and collect samples from the Carneddau mountain ponies in Snowdonia National Park. These ponies have been studied for over ten-years, and our previous has shown that: 1) that parasite loads are highly variable, 2) that cortisol and faecal oxidative stress respond to stressors, and 3) that microbiome community structure varies over time and space across the population