Abstract

Colic in horses is a common condition that can affect different organs of the abdominal cavity. In recent years, attempts have been made to associate this pathology with changes that occur in the intestinal microbiome. Through a case–control study, we analyzed the intestinal microbiome of a group of healthy horses and another with colic by massive sequencing of 16S rRNA to observe the differences in the bacterial composition and functionality of these groups. The intestinal microbiomes of both groups are dominated by the phyla Firmicuteota, Bacteroidota, and Pseudomonadota. The abundance of Firmicuteota was negatively correlated with Pseudomonadota and Actinobacteriota in horses with colic. The microbiome of equine colic was predicted to be enriched with aerobic respiration pathways and fatty acid and amino acid degradation, observations that indicate discrete but important differences in the intestinal microbiome of horses with colic, which correlate with a more pro-inflammatory microbial community.