Zhang Chengbo, Chen Junmin, Wu Qian, Xu Bo, Huang Zunxi
Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Biomass Energy, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China.
Key Laboratory of Yunnan Provincial Education Department for Plateau Characteristic Food Enzymes, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Mar 2;13(5):916. doi: 10.3390/ani13050916.
Evaluating the association between milk-containing diets and the microbiomes of young Asian elephants could assist establishing optimal breast milk supplementation to improve offspring survival rates. The microbiomes of young Asian elephants on different milk-containing diets (elephant milk only, elephant milk-plant mixed feed, and goat milk-plant mixed feed) were investigated using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and phylogenetic analysis. Microbial diversity was lower in the elephant milk-only diet group, with a high abundance of compared to the mixed-feed diet groups. and were dominant in all groups. , , and were abundant in the elephant milk-plant mixed-feed diet group, and was abundant in the goat milk-plant mixed-feed diet group. Membrane transport and cell motility metabolic pathways were significantly enriched in the elephant milk-plant mixed-feed diet group, whereas amino acid metabolism and signal transduction pathways were significantly enriched in the goat milk-plant mixed-feed diet group. The intestinal microbial community composition and associated functions varied significantly between diets. The results suggest that goat milk is not suitable for young elephants. Furthermore, we provide new research methods and directions regarding milk source evaluation to improve elephant survival, wellbeing, and conservation.
评估含奶饮食与亚洲象幼崽微生物群之间的关联，有助于确定最佳的母乳补充方案，以提高幼崽的存活率。利用16S rRNA基因的高通量测序和系统发育分析，对不同含奶饮食（仅象奶、象奶-植物混合饲料、山羊奶-植物混合饲料）喂养的亚洲象幼崽的微生物群进行了研究。仅以象奶为食的组中微生物多样性较低，与混合饲料组相比，[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]的丰度较高。[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]在所有组中占主导地位。[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]、[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]和[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]在象奶-植物混合饲料组中丰度较高，而[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]在山羊奶-植物混合饲料组中丰度较高。膜运输和细胞运动代谢途径在象奶-植物混合饲料组中显著富集，而氨基酸代谢和信号转导途径在山羊奶-植物混合饲料组中显著富集。不同饮食之间肠道微生物群落组成和相关功能存在显著差异。结果表明，山羊奶不适用于亚洲象幼崽。此外，我们提供了关于奶源评估的新研究方法和方向，以提高大象的存活率、健康水平和保护效果。
