The heroes within: utilizing the gut microbiome, microbiome therapeutics, and fecal microbiota transplant in managing companion animal health and disease

Microbiome therapeutics are gaining recognition for their role in the management of companion animal health and disease. This narrative review provides the current definition of the gut microbiome, the organisms comprising the theater, and their contributions to host homeostasis. Several testing modalities to determine the composition and distribution of bacterial groups within the gut microbiome are available. Sensitivity, specificity, and depth of analysis differ among these testing platforms and, while further research is needed to build on their interpretation, provides the veterinary practitioner a way to identify dysbiosis occurrence in their patients. Integrating microbiome therapeutics into clinical practice can be achieved through a multimodal approach that utilizes diet, prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, bacteriophages, and fecal microbiota transplant to modulate the microbiome balance and restore eubiosis to patients in dysbiotic states. Available literature is revealing the potential broad applications of microbiome modulation, but further study is needed to determine more precise mechanisms of action of these therapies in order to fully explore their potential.