Abstract
The long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is an endangered species found in the mountains of eastern and northern Asia. Its populations have declined for various reasons, and this species has been designated as legally protected in South Korea. Although various ecological studies have been conducted on long-tailed gorals, none have investigated the gut microbiome until now. In the present study, we compared the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome of seven populations of Korean long-tailed gorals. By analyzing the gut microbiome composition for each regional population, it was found that four phyla—Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, Bacteroidota, and Proteobacteria—were the most dominant in all regions on average. The alpha diversity of the gut microbiome of the goral population in the northern regions was high, while that in the southern regions was low. Through the analysis of beta diversity, the seven long-tailed goral populations have been divided into three groups: the Seoraksan population, the Samcheock population, and the Wangpicheon population. It was possible to confirm the regional migration of the animals using the gut microbiome based on the site-relational network analysis. It was found that the most stable population of long-tailed gorals in Korea was the Seoraksan population, and the closely related groups were the Samcheok and Wangpicheon populations, respectively. Wangpicheon appeared to be a major point of dispersal in the migration route of Korean long-tailed gorals.
Highlights
The long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is a vulnerable species distributed in the eastern and northern Asian mountains, including Russia, China, and Korea [1,2]
More attention should be focused on the management and protection of long-tailed goral populations in more southern habitats, in Juwangsan National Park, Woraksan National Park, and Wangpicheon Conservation Area
A large number of ecological studies exist on the long-tailed goral, the relationships or differences between populations in South Korea—and especially the possibility of migration—remained unclear
Summary
The long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is a vulnerable species distributed in the eastern and northern Asian mountains, including Russia, China, and Korea [1,2]. Long-tailed gorals have experienced a genetic bottleneck effect by the rapid decrease in their population size as thousands of gorals died due to heavy snowfalls and hunting in 1964 and 1965. Their populations declined sharply due to poaching, habitat destruction, and abnormal climate conditions, resulting in decreased genetic diversity [3,4]. Previous research methods mainly studied haplotypes by region using partial mitochondrial DNA [3]. This type of Microorganisms 2021, 9, 2002.
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