The influence of caging, bedding, and diet on the composition of the microbiota in different regions of the mouse gut.

Countless studies have identified differences between the gut microbiota of humans affected with myriad conditions and healthy individuals, and animal models are commonly used to determine whether those differences are causative or correlative. Recently, concerns have arisen regarding the reproducibility of animal models between institutions and across time. To determine the influence of three common husbandry-associated factors that vary between institutions, groups of weanling mice were placed in either static or ventilated microisolator caging, with either aspen or paperchip bedding, and with one of three commonly used rodent chows, in a fully crossed study design.