RESEARCH ARTICLE Composition and Predicted Metabolic Capacity of Upper and Lower Airway Microbiota of Healthy Dogs in Relation to the Fecal Microbiota Aaron C. Ericsson1,2,3*, Alexa R. Personett2, Megan E. Grobman2,4,5, Hansjorg Rindt2,5, Carol R. Reinero2,4,5* a11111 1 University of Missouri Metagenomics Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America, 2 College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America, 3 Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America, 4 Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America, 5 Comparative Internal Medicine Laboratory, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America *
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[email protected] (CRR) OPEN ACCESS Citation: Ericsson AC, Personett AR, Grobman ME, Rindt H, Reinero CR (2016) Composition and Abstract Predicted Metabolic Capacity of Upper and Lower Airway Microbiota of Healthy Dogs in Relation to the The upper and lower airways of healthy humans are reported to harbor stable and consis- Fecal Microbiota. PLoS ONE 11(5): e0154646. tent bacterial populations, and the composition of these communities is altered in individu- doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154646 als affected with several respiratory diseases. Data regarding the presence of airway Editor: Brenda A Wilson, University of Illinois at microbiota in other animals are scant and a better understanding of the composition and Urbana-Champaign, UNITED STATES metabolic function of such bacterial populations is essential for the development of novel Received: January 20, 2016 therapeutic and diagnostic modalities for use in both veterinary and human medicine.