Untersuchung des nasalen Mikrobioms bei gesunden Katzen, Katzen mit Katzenschnupfen und Katzen mit Nasentumoren

Background: Traditionally, changes in the microbial population of the nose have been assessed using conventional culture techniques. Sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes demonstrated that the human nose is inhabited by a rich and diverse bacterial microbiome that cannot be detected using culture-based methods. The goal of this study was to describe the nasal microbiome of healthy cats, cats with nasal neoplasia, and cats with feline upper respiratory tract disease (FURTD). Methodology/Principal Findings: DNA was extracted from nasal swabs of healthy cats (n=28), cats with nasal neoplasia (n=16), and cats with FURTD (n=15), and 16S rRNA genes were sequenced. High species richness was observed in all samples. Rarefaction analysis revealed that healthy cats living indoors had greater species richness (observed species p=0.042) and Shannon diversity (p=0.003) compared with healthy cats living outdoors. Higher species richness (observed species p=0.001) and Shannon diversity (p