Yang Xiaoying, Yao Yuchen, Zhang Xueying, Zhong Jiahui, Gao Fuli, Zhang Haolin, Han Yingying, Weng Qiang, Yuan Zhengrong
College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Sep 13;11(9):2685. doi: 10.3390/ani11092685.
Seasonal breeding is a normal phenomenon in which animals adapt to natural selection and reproduce only in specific seasons. Large studies have reported that the gut microbiota is closely related to reproduction. The purpose of this study was to explore the distinct taxonomy and function of the gut microbiota in the breeding and non-breeding seasons of the wild ground squirrel (). The 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology was utilized to sequence the gut microbiota of the wild ground squirrel. PICRUSt analysis was also applied to predict the function of the gut microbiota. The results suggested that the main components of the gut microbiota in all samples were Firmicutes (61.8%), Bacteroidetes (32.4%), and Proteobacteria (3.7%). Microbial community composition analyses revealed significant differences between the breeding and non-breeding seasons. At the genus level, , , , and were more abundant in the non-breeding season, while and were more abundant in the breeding season. The results of a functional prediction suggested that the relative abundance of functional categories that were related to lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and nucleotide metabolism increased in the breeding season. The relative abundance of energy metabolism, transcription, and signal transduction increased in the non-breeding season. Overall, this study found differences in the taxonomy and function of the gut microbiota of the wild ground squirrel between the breeding and non-breeding seasons, and laid the foundation for further studies on the relationship between the gut microbiota and seasonal breeding.
季节性繁殖是一种正常现象，在此过程中动物适应自然选择，仅在特定季节进行繁殖。大量研究报告称，肠道微生物群与繁殖密切相关。本研究的目的是探索野生地松鼠在繁殖季节和非繁殖季节肠道微生物群的不同分类和功能。利用16S rRNA基因测序技术对野生地松鼠的肠道微生物群进行测序。还应用PICRUSt分析来预测肠道微生物群的功能。结果表明，所有样本中肠道微生物群的主要成分是厚壁菌门（61.8%）、拟杆菌门（32.4%）和变形菌门（3.7%）。微生物群落组成分析显示繁殖季节和非繁殖季节之间存在显著差异。在属水平上，[此处原文缺失具体属名]在非繁殖季节更为丰富，而[此处原文缺失具体属名]在繁殖季节更为丰富。功能预测结果表明，与脂质代谢、碳水化合物代谢和核苷酸代谢相关的功能类别的相对丰度在繁殖季节增加。能量代谢、转录和信号转导的相对丰度在非繁殖季节增加。总体而言，本研究发现野生地松鼠肠道微生物群在繁殖季节和非繁殖季节的分类和功能存在差异，为进一步研究肠道微生物群与季节性繁殖之间的关系奠定了基础。
