Xiang Chengwei, Su Luna, Han Mingzheng, Liang Jieren, Hou Fanghui, Liao Jianzhao
College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
Guangdong Wildlife Monitoring and Rescue Center, Guangzhou, China.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Jun 18;16:1599588. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1599588. eCollection 2025.
As an endangered species in the world, pangolins have attracted much attention due to their unique ecological value. In captivity, pangolins face numerous survival challenges, especially intestinal health problems, which are closely related to the gut microbiome and metabolome. The aim of this study was to contrast the gut microbiota and metabolome of Chinese pangolin and Malayan pangolin in captivity, which in order to explore the differences in digestive physiology and metabolic function between the two species. Through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics analysis, we identified significant differences in the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota between these two species. The gut microbiota of Chinese and Malayan pangolins is dominated by and at phylum level. At the genus level, the abundance of in Chinese pangolins was significantly higher than Malayan pangolins, whereas , and are more abundant in Malay pangolins. Moreover, integrative analysis of the microbiome and metabolome revealed important correlations: was positively correlated with 13-HpOTrE (r) metabolism, while was negatively correlated with 13-HpOTrE (r) metabolism. was positively correlated with 1-phenylethylamine metabolism. These results provided important gut microbiome and metabolomics data for the conservation and artificial breeding of pangolins, which can help optimize captive pangolins feeding management and health maintenance.
作为世界濒危物种，穿山甲因其独特的生态价值而备受关注。在圈养环境中，穿山甲面临诸多生存挑战，尤其是肠道健康问题，这与肠道微生物群和代谢组密切相关。本研究旨在对比圈养中华穿山甲和马来穿山甲的肠道微生物群和代谢组，以探究这两个物种在消化生理和代谢功能上的差异。通过16S rRNA基因测序和非靶向代谢组学分析，我们发现这两个物种的肠道微生物群在组成和多样性上存在显著差异。中华穿山甲和马来穿山甲的肠道微生物群在门水平上以 和 为主。在属水平上，中华穿山甲中 的丰度显著高于马来穿山甲，而 、 和 在马来穿山甲中更为丰富。此外，微生物组和代谢组的综合分析揭示了重要的相关性： 与13-HpOTrE（r）代谢呈正相关，而 与13-HpOTrE（r）代谢呈负相关。 与苯乙胺代谢呈正相关。这些结果为穿山甲的保护和人工繁育提供了重要的肠道微生物组和代谢组学数据，有助于优化圈养穿山甲的饲养管理和健康维护。
