Characterization of the intestinal microbiota duringCitrobacter rodentiuminfection in a mouse model of infection-triggered Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that has been shown to be influenced by the intestinal milieu. The gut microbiota is altered in PD patients, and murine studies have begun suggesting a causative role for the gut microbiota in progression of PD. We have previously shown that repeated infection with the intestinal murine pathogenCitrobacter rodentiumresulted in the development of PD-like pathology inPink1(-/-)mice compared to wild-type littermates. This addendum aims to expand this work by characterizing the gut microbiota duringC. rodentiuminfection in ourPink1(-/-)PD model. We observed little disturbance to the fecal microbiota diversity both between infection timepoints and betweenPink1(-/-)and wild-type control littermates. However, the level of short-chain fatty acids appeared to be altered over the course of infection with butyric acid significantly increasing inPink1(-/-)mice and isobutyric acid increasing in wild-type mice.