Suolang Quji, Basang Zhuzha, Silang Wangmu, Nima Cangjue, Yang Qiwen, Da Wa
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang, Shaanxi, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Feb 4;20(2):e0312314. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312314. eCollection 2025.
The Tibetan cattle, indispensable·animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, have become a focal point for the region's economic development. As such, the hybridization of these cattle has been recognized as a pivotal strategy to enhance the local cattle industry. However, research on the gut microbiota of Tibetan hybrid cattle remains scarce. Based on this, we conducted a comparative analysis of the gut microbiota and its functional implications across three distinct cattle populations: two the hybrid cattle populations (Tibetan local cattle × Holstein cattle, TH and Tibetan local cattle × Jersey cattle, TJ) and one the Tibetan locoal cattle population (BL). Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes dominate the gut microbiota across all populations at the phylum level. In addition, the predominant phyla in BL cattle were found to be Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobiota, and Actinobacteria, which may be one of the important reasons for the adaptability of Tibetan local cattle to the high-altitude environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Further analysis identified specific biomarkers associated with the immune systems of BL cattle, including Bacteroidales_RF16, Coriobacterium, and Muribaculaceae. In contrast, TH cattle are primarily dominated by Oscillospiraceae and Clostridia_UCG_014, and TJ cattle are mainly dominated by Christensenellaceae and Gammaproteobacteria. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that BL and TH cattle showed significant enrichment in the immune system, energy metabolism, and amino acid metabolism-related pathways compared with TJ cattle. Overall, these results suggest that BL and TH cattle demonstrate enhanced adaptability compared to TJ cattle, and indicate that intestinal microbiota of cattle at different altitudes and breeds have diverse structures and functions. Our study presents a new perspective on the role of the microbiome in the hybridization and enhancement of Tibetan cattle.
牦牛是青藏高原不可或缺的动物，已成为该地区经济发展的重点。因此，牦牛杂交被认为是促进当地养牛业发展的关键策略。然而，关于杂交牦牛肠道微生物群的研究仍然很少。基于此，我们对三个不同牛群的肠道微生物群及其功能影响进行了比较分析：两个杂交牛群（西藏本地牛×荷斯坦牛，TH和西藏本地牛×泽西牛，TJ）和一个西藏本地牛群（BL）。在门水平上，拟杆菌门和厚壁菌门在所有群体的肠道微生物群中占主导地位。此外，发现BL牛中占优势的门是蓝细菌门、疣微菌门和放线菌门，这可能是西藏本地牛适应青藏高原高海拔环境的重要原因之一。进一步分析确定了与BL牛免疫系统相关的特定生物标志物，包括拟杆菌目_RF16、棒状杆菌属和毛螺菌科。相比之下，TH牛主要由颤螺菌科和梭菌属_UCG_014主导，TJ牛主要由克里斯滕森菌科和γ-变形菌纲主导。KEGG富集分析表明，与TJ牛相比，BL和TH牛在免疫系统、能量代谢和氨基酸代谢相关途径中表现出显著富集。总体而言，这些结果表明，与TJ牛相比，BL和TH牛表现出更强的适应性，表明不同海拔和品种的牛的肠道微生物群具有不同的结构和功能。我们的研究为微生物群在牦牛杂交和改良中的作用提供了新的视角。
