Stress, including both psychological and physical stimulation, can cause changes in the microbiota and mucosal function of the gastrointestinal system. There are few research studies available about the faecal microbiota changes after stress, such as water immersion restraint stress (WIRS). Therefore, in this study, we focused on analysing the composition changes of faecal microbiota in WIRS mice. The WIRS model, in which Blab/c mice were immersed in 21 ± 2 °C water for 4 h each day for 14 days, was established. Behavioural changes, the serum levels of corticosterone, IFN-γ and IL-17 and gastric mucosal injury were also assessed. Ten faecal microbiota samples were detected by Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes from 367205 characterised sequences. Finally, we find significant differences in the faecal microbiota composition between the control and the WIRS groups. There was an obvious increase in Lachnospiraceae in the WIRS mice (p = 0.0286, p < 0.05), which is associated with human diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's and celiac disease. Our research indicates that stress changes in the faecal microbiota. These results suggest that observing shifts of the intestinal microbiota is a promising method to explore the mechanism of the stress associated with gastrointestinal diseases and to provide us with a better understanding of the relationship between the microbiota and disease.
Keywords: 16s rRNA; Faecal microbiota; Illumina Miseq sequencing; Microbial community; Water immersion restraint stress.