Seasonal diets supersede host species in shaping the distal gut microbiota of Yaks and Tibetan sheep

Xiaojuan Wei,Zhen Dong,Hongmei Shi,Weiwei Wang,Xuzheng Zhou,Fusheng Cheng,Ling Wang,Jiyu Zhang,Bing Li

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99351-4

Abstract

Yaks and Tibetan sheep are important and renowned livestock of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Both host genetics and environmental factors can shape the composition of gut microbiota, however, there is still no consensus on which is the more dominant factor. To investigate the influence of hosts and seasons on the gut microbiome diversity component, we collected fecal samples from yaks and Tibetan sheep across different seasons (summer and winter), during which they consumed different diets. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, principal component analysis (PCoA) data showed that PCo1 explained 57.4% of the observed variance (P = 0.001) and clearly divided winter samples from summer ones, while PCo2 explained 7.1% of observed variance (P = 0.001) and mainly highlighted differences in host species. Cluster analysis data revealed that the gut microbiota composition displayed a convergence caused by season and not by genetics. Further, we profiled the gut microbial community and found that the more dominant genera in yak and Tibetan sheep microbiota were influenced by seasonal diets factors rather than genetics. This study therefore indicated that seasonal diet can trump host genetics even at higher taxonomic levels, thus providing a cautionary note for the breeding and management of these two species.

Highlights

Yaks and Tibetan sheep are important and renowned livestock of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP)
We investigated the composition of gut microbiota during the winter and the summer to examine whether host species genotype or diet had a greater impact in shaping gut microbial populations
Yak and Tibetan sheep thrive under a co-grazing system on the QTP and/or are fed with the same materials; this offers an excellent opportunity to compare the gut microbiota in different host species which share a similar diet

Summary

Introduction

Yaks and Tibetan sheep are important and renowned livestock of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) Both host genetics and environmental factors can shape the composition of gut microbiota, there is still no consensus on which is the more dominant factor. To investigate the influence of hosts and seasons on the gut microbiome diversity component, we collected fecal samples from yaks and Tibetan sheep across different seasons (summer and winter), during which they consumed different diets. The yak (Bos grunniens) and the Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) inhabit this region, having adapted to the environment to become the principal livestock animals of the nomadic Tibetan p eople[1]. We investigated the composition of gut microbiota during the winter and the summer to examine whether host species genotype or diet had a greater impact in shaping gut microbial populations

Methods

Results

Conclusion