Comparative Analysis of the Fecal Bacterial Microbiota of Wintering Whooper Swans (Cygnus Cygnus)

Abstract

There are many and diverse intestinal microbiota, and they are closely related to various physiological functions of the body. They directly participate in the host's food digestion, nutrient absorption, energy metabolism, immune response, and many other physiological activities and are also related to the occurrence of many diseases. The intestinal microbiota are extremely important for maintaining normal physical health. In order to explore the composition and differences of the intestinal microbiota of whooper swans in different wintering areas, we collected fecal samples of whooper swans in Sanmenxia, Henan, and Rongcheng, Shandong, and we used the Illumina HiSeq platform to perform high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Comparison between Sanmenxia and Rongcheng showed no significant differences in ACE, Chao 1, Simpson, and Shannon indices (p > 0.05). Beta diversity results showed significant differences in bacterial communities between two groups [analysis of similarity (ANOSIM): R = 0.80, p = 0.011]. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis showed that at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria was significantly higher in Sanmenxia whooper swans than Rongcheng whooper swans. At the genus level, the amount of Psychrobacter and Carnobacterium in Sanmenxia was significantly higher in Rongcheng, while the relative abundance Catellicoccus and Lactobacillus was significantly higher in Rongcheng than in Sanmenxia. This study analyzed the composition, characteristics, and differences of the intestinal microbiota of the whooper swans in different wintering environments and provided theoretical support for further exploring the relationship between the intestinal microbiota of the whooper swans and the external environment. And it played an important role in the overwintering physiology and ecology, population management, and epidemic prevention and control of whooper swans.

Comparative Analysis of Fecal Bacterial Microbiota of Six Bird Species

“…The average proportion of bacteria from these three phyla in the sequenced data reached 98.56%. The dominant bacterial phyla identified in the current study were consistent with those identified by Wang et al ( 21 ) in wintering whooper swans of Sanmenxia in Henan province and Rongcheng in Shandong province and those identified by Wang et al ( 11 ) in wintering black-necked cranes ( 11 ). Therefore, bacteria from these three phyla are dominant in most wild birds analyzed to date.…”

Comparative Analysis of the Gut Microbiota of Three Sympatric Terrestrial Wild Bird Species Overwintering in Farmland Habitats

“…In our study, the gut microbiota of three wild bird species were found to mainly comprise six phyla, including Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Campilobacterota, consistent with studies on other birds, such as the Greylag Geese ( Anser anser ; Wang et al, 2018 ), Bengalese Finch ( Lonchura striata domestica ) and Zebra Finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ; Maraci et al, 2021 ), Hooded Crane ( Grus monacha ; Fu et al, 2020 ), and Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus ; Wang et al, 2021 ). Firmicutes, the most dominant species among the three hosts, generally dominate the gut microbiota in all animals and play an important role in maintaining gut homeostasis and assisting digestion.…”

Comparative Analysis of the Fecal Microbiota of Relict Gull (Larus relictus) in Mu Us Desert (Hao Tongcha Nur) and Bojiang Haizi in Inner Mongolia, China

“…Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant microbiota in the relict gulls at both sites. This is consistent with the results of previous studies on other avian species ( 27 , 33 ). These phyla exist in multiple avian species, indicating that they are important functional bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of relict gulls.…”

“…DNA was extracted using the E.Z.N.A. Stool DNA Kit (D4015, Omega, Inc., GA, USA), according to the manufacturer's instructions, as described ( 27 ). Generally, total DNA was isolated and eluted in elution buffer and used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the amplified region was the V3–V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, the used primers were 341F (5′-CCTACGGGNGGCWGCAG-3′) and 805R (5′-GACTACHVGGGTATCTAATCC-3′).…”