For reasons not fully understood, captive marmosets are commonly diagnosed with chronic gastrointestinal (GI) diseases—more so than other diseases. To identify potential biomarkers of marmoset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), StageBio senior pathologist Dr. Sureshkumar Muthupalani co-authored a study to analyze the differences in the microbiome and blood samples between healthy marmosets and marmosets clinically diagnosed with IBD.

The published analysis titled “Analysis of gut microbiome profiles in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) in health and intestinal disease” is the largest marmoset microbiome study to date. It characterizes gut microbiome using 303 samples from 91 healthy marmosets and 200 samples from 59 marmosets diagnosed with IBD to evaluate the impact that the microbiome has on GI diseases. Findings and observations from the study include:

• Source-specific microbiomes are retained despite standardized diets and husbandry practices
• Marmosets with IBD exhibited decreased levels of alpha diversity and, compared to healthy marmosets, a ratio shift Bacteroides:Prevotella copri
• The bacteria observed most frequently in the gut microbiome of healthy marmosets were acetate- or propionate-producers
• Healthy marmosets exhibited a low abundance of butyrate producers
• The microbiome of healthy marmosets resembled the human microbiome

The study goes on to hypothesize that the microbiome of healthy marmosets may provide further insight into the impact the microbiome has in other areas of research that involve the marmoset model, including aging, toxicology, and neuroscience.

Download and read “Analysis of gut microbiome profiles in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) in health and intestinal disease” for a more in-depth look at the study’s methods and discussion on the implication of its findings.

About StageBio

StageBio is a leading provider of GLP-compliant necropsy, histology, pathology, and specimen archiving and biorepository services for the biopharmaceutical, medical device, academic, and contract research industries. The company operates four GLP laboratories as well as three GLP specimen archiving facilities in the U.S., along with one GLP laboratory in Europe. StageBio will continue to make investments in facility and technology infrastructure to meet the growing demand for high-quality histopathology services globally. StageBio has a team of 30+ board-certified veterinary pathologists and more than 100 laboratory technicians on staff supporting our unified commitment to quality, scientific integrity, and client satisfaction. Learn more at  stagebio.com.