Abstract
The Sichuan takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana) is a rare and endangered ruminant distributed in the eastern Himalayas. However, little information is available regarding the intestinal microbiota of the takin. In this study, Illumina Miseq platform targeting the V4 region of the 16S rRNA was employed to characterize microbial community and diversity in the feces of wild (n = 6) and captive takins (n = 6). The takin exhibited an intestinal microbiota dominated by three phyla: Firmicutes (57.4%), Bacteroidetes (24.2%) and Proteobacteria (12.3%). At family/genus level, Ruminococcaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Acinetobacter, Clostridium, Lachnospiraceae, Rikenellaceae, Bacillus, Comamonas and Spirochaetaceae were dominant. Distinctive microbiotas between wild and captive takins were observed based on microbial community structure, captive takins having significantly higher community diversity. Quantitative real-time PCR were also utilized to monitor predominant bacteria in three Sichuan takin individuals housed in Chengdu Zoo over a half-year period, which showed that microbial communities of the three takins were relatively similar to each other and stable during our study period. Our results suggested that diet was a major driver for shaping microbial community composition.
Highlights
The microbial populations that reside in the digestive tract of animals are diverse and numerous
To our knowledge, the current work is the first comprehensive study to evaluate the fecal microbiota of the Sichuan takin
In order to effectively study their complex microbial community, Illumina Miseq sequencing and group-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) had been employed in this study
Summary
The microbial populations that reside in the digestive tract of animals are diverse and numerous. The bacteria of the animal gastrointestinal tract constitutes a complex ecosystem which is involved in host physiology, ranging from the structure and functions of the digestive system and the innate and adaptive immune systems, to host energy metabolism (Macfarlane and Macfarlane 2004). There are four subspecies of the takin, namely the Mishmi takin (B. taxicolor taxicolor), the golden takin (B. taxicolor bedfordi), the Sichuan takin (B. taxicolor tibetana), and the Bhutan takin (B. taxicolor whitei). The Sichuan takin and golden takin are endemic subspecies of China. The body size of the takin is similar to the gaur (Bos gaurus) and the wild yak (Bos grunniens), but their external characteristics of digestive system are rather similar to sheep according
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