Rumen Microbiota of Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries) Adaptation to Extremely Cold Season on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Fan, Qingshan; Cui, Xiongxiong; Wang, Zhaofeng; Chang, Shenghua; Wanapat, Metha; Yan, Tianhai; Hou, Fujiang

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.673822

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(89 reference statements)

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“…Fibrobacter, Treponema_2, Saccharofermentans and Ruminococcus_1 were higher in winter. Fan's et al ( 57 ) results showed that Ruminococcus_1 was more concentrated in summer, while our results showed that Ruminococcus_1 and Saccharofermentans were more concentrated in winter, which may be due to relatively stable source of nutrients. In addition, in the cold winter, more energy was needed to resist the cold.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

Seasonal Differences in Fecal Microbial Community Structure and Metabolism of House-Feeding Chinese Merino Fine-Wool Sheep

Zhang

Shahzad

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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The digestive tract microorganisms play a very important role in the host's nutrient intake, environmental suitability, and affect the host's physiological mechanism. Previous studies showed that in different seasons, mammalian gut microbes would be different. However, most of them are concentrated in wild animals. It remains unclear how seasonal change affects the gut microbes of Chinese merino fine-wool Sheep. Therefore, in this experiment, we continuously collected blood and feces samples of 50 Chinese merino fine-wool sheep in different seasons, measured the physiological indicators of blood, and passed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, determined the microbial community structure of fecal microorganisms and predicted flora function by PICRUSt. The results of blood physiological indicators showed that WBC, Neu and Bas in spring were significantly higher than those of other seasons. Fecal microbial sequencing revealed seasonal changes in gut microbial diversity and richness. Among them, Chinese merino fine-wool sheep had the highest gut microbes in summer. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla, and they were unaffected by seasonal fluctuations. LEfSE analysis was used to analyze representative microorganisms in different seasons. The Lachnospiraceae and its genera (Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Lachnospiraceae_AC2044_group, g_unclassified_f_ Lachnospiraceae) were representative microorganisms in the three seasons of spring, summer and winter with harsh environmental conditions; while in autumn with better environmental conditions, the Ruminococcaceae and its genus (Ruminococcaceae_UCG-009 and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005) were the representative microorganism. In autumn, the ABC transporter and the pyruvate metabolic pathway were significantly higher than other seasons. Correlation analysis results showed that Lachnospiraceae participated in the ABC transporters metabolic pathway, which caused changes in the blood physiological indicators. Overall, our results showed that, in response to seasonal changes, Chinese merino fine-wool sheep under house-feeding have adjusted their own gut microbial community structure, causing changes in the metabolism, and thus changing the physiological conditions of the blood. In the cold season, producers should focus on regulating the nutritional level of feed, enhancing the level of butyric acid in young animals to increase the ABC transporter, resist the external harsh environment, and improve the survival rate.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

Seasonal Differences in Fecal Microbial Community Structure and Metabolism of House-Feeding Chinese Merino Fine-Wool Sheep

Zhang

Shahzad

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group , which is the main gene of Rikenellaceae, plays an important role in the fermentation of carbohydrates and crude protein ( 46 , 47 ). Fan et al ( 8 ) also revealed that Tibetan sheep could enhance forage degradation and fermentation by increasing the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Prevotella_1 , and Prevotellaceae_UCG-003 during the summer season compared with the winter season. Christensenellaceae are belonged to Firmicutes, which widespread in the intestines and mucous membranes of humans and animals and are important for host health due to several enzymes ( 48 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A previous study showed that Tibetan sheep suffered serious live-weight loss (−20.54%) under traditional pastoral herding, resulting in severe economic loss during the cold season ( 7 ). In addition to growth performance and economic benefits, cold season grazing also reduces growth hormone levels and damages the immune defense system of Tibetan sheep ( 8 ). Therefore, scientific management and rearing are particularly important in Tibetan sheep production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Response of Ruminal Microbiota and Metabolites to Different Dietary Protein Levels in Tibetan Sheep on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Wang

Zhao

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Ruminal microbiota and metabolites play crucial roles in animal health and productivity. Exploring the dynamic changes and interactions between microbial community composition and metabolites is important for understanding ruminal nutrition and metabolism. Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) are an important livestock resource on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), and the effects of various dietary protein levels on ruminal microbiota and metabolites are still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of ruminal microbiota and metabolites to different levels of dietary protein in Tibetan sheep. Three diets with different protein levels (low protein 10.1%, medium protein 12.1%, and high protein 14.1%) were fed to Tibetan sheep. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) were used to study the profile changes in each group of ruminal microbes and metabolites, as well as the potential interaction between them. The rumen microbiota in all groups was dominated by the phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes regardless of the dietary protein level. At the genus level, Prevotella_1, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 were dominant. Under the same forage-to-concentrate ratio condition, the difference in the dietary protein levels had no significant impact on the bacterial alpha diversity index and relative abundance of the major phyla and genera in Tibetan sheep. Rumen metabolomics analysis revealed that dietary protein levels altered the concentrations of ruminal amino acids, carbohydrates and organic acids, and significantly affected tryptophan metabolism (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis of the microbiota and metabolites revealed positive and negative regulatory mechanisms. Overall, this study provides detailed information on rumen microorganisms and ruminal metabolites under different levels of dietary protein, which could be helpful in subsequent research for regulating animal nutrition and metabolism through nutritional interventions.

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“…They have been grazed and used by local herdsmen for meat, milk, and fuel (the dry feces) for several centuries (Cui et al, 2020 ). Modification of the intestinal microbiomes of these high-altitude ruminants in response to the unique ecological environment of the QTP has been extensively studied (Ma et al, 2019b ; Liu et al, 2020a , c , 2021 ; Fan et al, 2021 ). By way of illustration, S adapt to changes in the plant phenological period by altering their rumen microbial community structure and function (Liu et al, 2020a ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gut Microbiota Determines the High-Altitude Adaptability of Tibetan Wild Asses (Equus kiang) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Liu

Han²,

Zhao

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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It was acknowledged long ago that microorganisms have played critical roles in animal evolution. Tibetan wild asses (TWA, Equus kiang) are the only wild perissodactyls on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and the first national protected animals; however, knowledge about the relationships between their gut microbiota and the host's adaptability remains poorly understood. Herein, 16S rRNA and meta-genomic sequencing approaches were employed to investigate the gut microbiota–host associations in TWA and were compared against those of the co-resident livestock of yak (Bos grunnies) and Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries). Results revealed that the gut microbiota of yak and Tibetan sheep underwent convergent evolution. By contrast, the intestinal microflora of TWA diverged in a direction enabling the host to subsist on sparse and low-quality forage. Meanwhile, high microbial diversity (Shannon and Chao1 indices), cellulolytic activity, and abundant indicator species such as Spirochaetes, Bacteroidetes, Prevotella_1, and Treponema_2 supported forage digestion and short-chain fatty acid production in the gut of TWA. Meanwhile, the enterotype identification analysis showed that TWA shifted their enterotype in response to low-quality forage for a better utilization of forage nitrogen and short-chain fatty acid production. Metagenomic analysis revealed that plant biomass degrading microbial consortia, genes, and enzymes like the cellulolytic strains (Prevotella ruminicola, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Ruminococcus albus, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, and Ruminobacter amylophilus), as well as carbohydrate metabolism genes (GH43, GH3, GH31, GH5, and GH10) and enzymes (β-glucosidase, xylanase, and β-xylosidase, etc.) had a significantly higher enrichment in TWA. Our results indicate that gut microbiota can improve the adaptability of TWA through plant biomass degradation and energy maintenance by the functions of gut microbiota in the face of nutritional deficiencies and also provide a strong rationale for understanding the roles of gut microbiota in the adaptation of QTP wildlife when facing harsh feeding environments.

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Rumen Microbiota of Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries) Adaptation to Extremely Cold Season on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 23 publications

References 59 publications

Seasonal Differences in Fecal Microbial Community Structure and Metabolism of House-Feeding Chinese Merino Fine-Wool Sheep

Seasonal Differences in Fecal Microbial Community Structure and Metabolism of House-Feeding Chinese Merino Fine-Wool Sheep

The Response of Ruminal Microbiota and Metabolites to Different Dietary Protein Levels in Tibetan Sheep on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The Gut Microbiota Determines the High-Altitude Adaptability of Tibetan Wild Asses (Equus kiang) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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