Vaasjo Emma, Stothart Mason R, Black Sandra R, Poissant Jocelyn, Whiteside Douglas P
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Animal Health Department, Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, 1300 Zoo Rd NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7V6, Canada.
Conserv Physiol. 2024 Aug 7;12(1):coae052. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coae052. eCollection 2024.
Greater sage-grouse () are a critically endangered species in Canada with fewer than 140 individuals remaining on native habitats in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 2014, the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo initiated North America's only zoo-based conservation breeding program for this species to bolster declining wild populations through conservation reintroductions. Within the managed population of sage-grouse, morbidity and mortality have primarily been associated with intestinal bacterial infections. As a preliminary study to assess the gastrointestinal health of this species in managed care, the fecal bacterial microbiome of adult and juvenile captive sage-grouse was characterized with 16S rRNA sequencing. The composition of the microbiome at the phylum level in greater sage-grouse is consistent with previous studies of the avian microbiome, with as the most abundant phyla, and , and also being highly abundant. Antibiotic use and sex did not have a significant impact on the diversity or composition of the microbiome, but the management of juvenile sage-grouse did influence the development of the microbiome. Juveniles that were raised outdoors under maternal care developed a microbiome much more similar to adults when compared to chicks that were incubated and hand-raised. The local environment and parental care appear to be important factors influencing the diversity and composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome in this species.
艾草松鸡（学名：Centrocercus urophasianus）是加拿大的极度濒危物种，在艾伯塔省南部和萨斯喀彻温省的原生栖息地仅存不到140只。2014年，怀尔德研究所/卡尔加里动物园启动了北美唯一一项基于动物园的该物种保护繁育计划，通过保护引种来增加数量不断减少的野生种群。在圈养的艾草松鸡种群中，发病和死亡主要与肠道细菌感染有关。作为评估该物种在圈养管理下胃肠道健康的初步研究，利用16S rRNA测序对成年和幼年圈养艾草松鸡的粪便细菌微生物群进行了特征分析。艾草松鸡门水平的微生物群组成与先前对鸟类微生物群的研究一致，其中厚壁菌门是最丰富的门，变形菌门、放线菌门和拟杆菌门也大量存在。抗生素使用和性别对微生物群的多样性或组成没有显著影响，但幼年艾草松鸡的管理方式确实会影响微生物群的发育。与孵化和人工饲养的雏鸡相比，在母鸟照料下在户外饲养的幼年艾草松鸡所形成的微生物群与成年松鸡更为相似。当地环境和亲代照料似乎是影响该物种胃肠道微生物群多样性和组成的重要因素。
