Authors

Discussion

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites share their habitat with the commensal microbial flora. Increasing evidence, particularly in humans and rodent models of parasite infection, points towards a multitude of interactions occurring between parasites and the gut microbiota, with a profound impact on both host immunity and metabolic potential. Despite this information, the exploration of the effects that parasite infections exert on the commensal gut microbes of veterinary species is a field of research in its infancy. Given the production losses and the considerable morbidity and mortality associated with a range of helminth diseases in veterinary species, as well as the global threat of emerging anthelmintic resistance, further exploration of the complexities of their host-helminth-microbiota interactions is indicated. In this presentation, the composition of the gut microbiota of two cohorts of thoroughbred horses with high- and low-levels of helminth infection (by cyathostomin nematodes), pre- and post-anthelmintic treatment, will be described. The data presented here will assist the identification of bacterial species that are affected by helminth infection. The implications of this newly acquired knowledge will be multiple, from a better understanding of the systems biology of parasites, to the collection of information that could prove pivotal to the development of novel intervention strategies against gastrointestinal helminths.