The biogeography of colonic bacteria in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy

The gut microbiota in humans and other animal species is host-specific, but it is diverse, with variations along the longitudinal axis of thegut. The luminal microbiota is associated with digestive contents and includes most of the bacteria in the intestinal tract. In thesmall intestine, the microbiota is dominated by facultative anaerobic bacteria that can tolerate the acidic environment containing oxygen and antimicrobial molecules such as bile acids. Bacterial density increases in the cecum and colon, with bacterial communities mainly composed of obligate anaerobes (also called narrow anaerobes). This increased abundance of bacteria in the l...