Looking for an academic partner for your discovery projects?
Looking for an academic partner for your discovery projects?
Ghent University offers a unique proposal: the collaboration between veterinarians, physicians and scientists from different disciplines present at Ghent University takes the research to a higher level and creates many opportunities for innovation. At our Faculty of Veterinary Medicine these innovations can be tested in our own facilities and on the target species.
Check what we can offer in these fields
Ghent University offers a unique proposal: the collaboration between veterinarians, physicians and scientists from different disciplines present at Ghent University takes the research to a higher level and creates many opportunities for innovation. At our Faculty of Veterinary Medicine these innovations can be tested in our own facilities and on the target species.
Check what we can offer in these fields
馃惥 Exploring microbiota & immunity in senior dogs
2 Sept 2025
Supplementation of a new combination of prebiotic and postbiotic shapes fecal microbiota of old dogs while influencing immune parameters
In this 77-day study, healthy senior dogs received a dietary mixture of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides + yeast fractions (scFOS+), and their fecal microbiota and immune parameters were assessed following Lyme vaccination.
馃攷 Key findings:
路 scFOS+ supplementation clearly modulated the microbiota, increasing beneficial taxa such as Megamonas, Phascolarctobacterium, Bacteroidaceae and Fusobacterium.
路 A novel ASV index suggested that scFOS+ supports a gut environment favoring short-chain fatty acid producers.
路 Functional predictions (PICRUSt2) indicated enhanced propionate & acetate production, vitamin biosynthesis (B2, B5, B9), and stimulation of metabolic pathways.
路 Correlations were found between several microbial taxa and IgA/IgG immune responses, highlighting Megamonasand Phascolarctobacterium as genera of interest.
馃憠 In summary, scFOS+ emerges as a promising candidate to support healthy aging in dogs through microbiota-driven effects. Future metabolomics and mechanistic studies will further clarify the underlying pathways.
馃憞 Read the full paper here below