Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Microbiologyopen. 2020 Jul;9(7):e1050. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.1050. Epub 2020 May 12.
The bacterial microbiota in the gut varies among species, as well as with habitat, diet, age, and other factors. Intestinal microbiota homeostasis allows a host to adjust metabolic and immune performances in response to environmental changes. Therefore, potential implications of the gut microbiota in sustaining the health of the host have gained increasing attention in the field of endangered animal conservation. However, the effect of host intraspecies genetic variation on the gut microbiota is unknown. Moreover, little is known about the complexity of the gut mycobiota. Tigers are listed as endangered species, raising worldwide concern. Potential influences of subspecies, diet, and age on the gut microbiota in tigers were investigated in this study to provide a better understanding of the response of the tiger gut microbiota to external changes. The results revealed that the impacts of the factors listed above on gut bacterial and fungal communities are versatile. Host intraspecies genetic variation significantly impacted only fungal alpha diversity of the gut microbiota. Differences in diet, on the other hand, had a significant impact on alpha diversity of the gut microbiota, but exerted different effects on beta diversity of gut bacterial and fungal communities. Host age had no significant impact on the diversity of the gut fungal communities, but significantly impacted beta diversity of gut bacterial communities. This comprehensive study of tiger gut microbiota is an essential reference for tiger conservation when considering feeding and management strategies, and will contribute to a better understanding of the mycobiota in wildlife.
肠道中的细菌微生物群落因物种不同，以及栖息地、饮食、年龄和其他因素而异。肠道微生物群落的内稳态使宿主能够根据环境变化调整代谢和免疫功能。因此，肠道微生物群在维持宿主健康方面的潜在影响在濒危动物保护领域受到了越来越多的关注。然而，宿主种内遗传变异对肠道微生物群的影响尚不清楚。此外，肠道真菌群落的复杂性也知之甚少。老虎被列为濒危物种，引起了全球关注。本研究调查了亚种、饮食和年龄对老虎肠道微生物群的潜在影响，旨在更好地了解老虎肠道微生物群对外部变化的反应。结果表明，上述因素对肠道细菌和真菌群落的影响是多样的。宿主种内遗传变异仅显著影响肠道微生物群的真菌α多样性。另一方面，饮食差异对肠道微生物群的α多样性有显著影响，但对肠道细菌和真菌群落的β多样性有不同的影响。宿主年龄对肠道真菌群落的多样性没有显著影响，但对肠道细菌群落的β多样性有显著影响。本研究对老虎肠道微生物群进行了全面研究，为在考虑饲养和管理策略时保护老虎提供了重要参考，并将有助于更好地了解野生动物中的真菌群落。
