This study aimed to examine caecal and faecal microbiome in response to pradofloxacin treatment at a dose rate of 7.5mg/kg in New Zealand White crossbred rabbits. A single dose of pradofloxacin was given to four female rabbits in one treatment group while single dose of pradofloxacin was given to four male rabbits daily for four days in the other treatment group. Hard pellets and caecotrophs where possible were collected during trial period and caecal samples were collected at post mortem. Gram stains and viable counts indicated significant changes in microbiome after pradofloxacin treatment. However, proliferation of bacteria that typically cause antimicrobial induced enteritis was not observed and histological appearance of the gastrointestinal tract in the rabbits from each treatment group was not significantly different compared to the control group. In order to define microbiome changes, we characterized the microbial community of caecal and faecal samples of rabbits by targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Total bacterial DNA was extracted by using PowerFecal™ DNA Isolation kit (MO BIO Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA, USA). DNA concentration was standardised to 5ng/μL before amplification in T100 Thermal Cycler (Biorad) for 16S metagenomics library preparation according to manufacturer’s protocol. Results are currently being analysed. This study will provide comprehensive analysis of the effect of pradofloxacin on gut microbiota and ensure safe use of pradofloxacin to treat infections in pet rabbits.
Corresponding author: darren.trott@adelaide.edu.au