Abstract
Tibetan wild asses (Equus Kiang) are the only wild species of perissodactyls on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and appears on the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN) 2012 Red List of threatened species. Therefore, understanding the gut microbiota composition and function of wild asses can provide a theoretical for the situ conservation of wild animals in the future.In this study, we measured the dry matter digestion by the 4 molar hydrochloric acid (4N HCL) acid-insoluble ash method and analyzed the intestinal microbiota of wild asses and domestic donkeys by high-throughput sequencing of the 16s rDNA genes in V3–V4 regions. The results showed that the dry matter digestion in wild asses was significantly higher than in domestic donkeys (P < 0.05). No significant difference in alpha diversity was detected between these two groups. Beta diversity showed that the bacterial community structure of wild asses was acutely different from domestic donkeys. At the phylum level, the two dominant phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in wild asses were significantly higher than that in domestic donkeys. At the genus level, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214, Phascolarctobacterium, Coprostanoligenes_group, Lachnospiraceae_XPB1014_group and Akkermansia in wild asses were significantly higher than in domestic donkeys. Moreover, statistical comparisons showed that 40 different metabolic pathways exhibited significant differences. Among them, 29 pathways had richer concentrations in wild asses than domestic donkeys, mainly included amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy metabolism. Of note, network analysis showed that wild asses harbored a relatively more complex bacterial network than domestic donkeys, possibly reflecting the specific niche adaption of gut bacterial communities through species interactions. The overall results indicated that wild asses have advantages over domestic donkeys in dry matter digestion, gut microbial community composition and function, and wild asses have their unique intestinal flora to adapt high altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.
Highlights
Low temperatures and hypoxia render the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) an extremely harsh environment for the survival of mammalian species
This study described the dry matter digestion, compositions, diversity and function of bacterial communities in Tibetan wild asses and domestic donkeys
Based on 16s rRNA sequencing data, we found that the gut microbiota of Tibetan wild asses (TWAs) was superior to that of natural pasture domestic donkeys (NPDDs) in bacterial community composition, function, and potentially high resistance to disease risk under similar forage nutrition intake
Summary
Low temperatures and hypoxia render the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) an extremely harsh environment for the survival of mammalian species. The Tibetan wild asses (Equus kiang )—order Perissodactyla, family Equidae, genus Equus—is considered a unique species and the only wild species of perissodactyls to inhabit the QTP (Zheng & Gao, 2000), and appears on the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN) 2012 Red List of threatened species. Domestic donkeys (Equus asinus)— of the order Perissodactyla, family Equidae, genus Equus—are the subspecies of wild ass (Moehlman, 2002) and were introduced from regions of China at lower elevations, adapting to life in this harsh environment and becoming the livestock of the nomadic Tibetan people to their substantial economic benefit. The study of intestinal microorganisms is of great significance for revealing host immunity, nutrient metabolism, energy absorption and wild animal conservation
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