A Comparative Study on the Faecal Bacterial Community and Potential Zoonotic Bacteria of Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) in Northeast Greenland, Northwest Greenland and Norway.

Emilie Andersen-Ranberg,Christian Sonne,Carsten Grøndahl,Anders Hansen,Christopher Barnes,Monica Sundset,Jesper Mosbacher,Alejandro Salgado-Flores,Niels Schmidt,Linett Rasmussen

doi:10.3390/microorganisms6030076

Abstract

Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are ruminants adapted to a high-fibre diet. There is increasing interest in the role that gut microbes play in the digestion and utilization of these specialized diets but only limited data available on the gut microbiome of high-Arctic animals. In this study, we metabarcoded the 16S rRNA region of faecal samples from muskoxen of Northeast Greenland, Northwest Greenland and Norway, and quantified the effects of physiological and temporal factors on bacterial composition. We found significant effects of body mass, year of sampling and location on the gut bacterial communities of North East Greenland muskoxen. These effects were however dwarfed by the effects of location, emphasizing the importance of the local ecology on the gut bacterial community. Habitat alterations and rising temperatures may therefore have a considerable impact on muskoxen health and reproductive success. Moreover, muskoxen are hunted and consumed in Greenland, Canada and Alaska; therefore, this study also screened for potential zoonoses of food safety interest. A total of 13 potentially zoonotic genera were identified, including the genera Erysipelothrix and Yersinia implicated in recent mass die-offs of the muskoxen themselves.

Highlights

IntroductionThe muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is the largest (150–300 kg) of only a handful of ruminants to do so and they roam areas of northern Canada, Northeast Greenland and Alaska
A few large terrestrial mammals have adapted to life in the high Arctic
The bacterial composition of NEGM were tested against three parameters: body mass, year of sampling and sex and significant effects of body mass and year of sampling were found

Summary

Introduction

The muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is the largest (150–300 kg) of only a handful of ruminants to do so and they roam areas of northern Canada, Northeast Greenland and Alaska. They have been further introduced to Norway, West Greenland, Wrangel Island and the Taimyr Peninsula [1]. Muskoxen mainly forage on graminoids and shrubs [3,4,5]. High Arctic summers are short and provide the muskoxen with energy rich pastures for a limited time [6]; the winter is long and offers limited forage that is high in fibres (lignocellulosic macromolecules) [5,7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion