Gut microbiota and fecal metabolites in captive and wild North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) by comparsion using 16 s rRNA gene sequencing and LC/MS-based metabolomics

BMC Veterinary Research

Fengping He¹  Heqin Cao²  Guangshun Jiang²  Yan Hua³  Jiao Wang⁴ 

[1] College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, 650201, Kunming, China;Feline Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Natural Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, 150040, Harbin, China;Feline Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Natural Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, 150040, Harbin, China;Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, 510520, Guangzhou, China;Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, 510520, Guangzhou, China;

关键词: Fecal metabolites;    gut microbiota;    North China leopard;    16S rRNA gene sequencing;    metabolomics;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12917-020-02583-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGut microbes significantly contribute to nutrient digestion and absorption, intestinal health and immunity, and are essential for the survival and environmental adaptation of wild animals. However, there are few studies on the gut microbiota of captive and wild North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis).ResultsA total of 10 mainly bacterial phyla were identified in the fecal microbiota of North China leopard, Lachnoclostridium (p = 0.003), Peptoclostridium (p = 0.005), Bacteroides (p = 0.008), Fusobacterium (p = 0.017) and Collinsella (p = 0.019) were significantly higher than those of wild North China leopard. Distinct differences in the fecal metabolic phenotypes of captive and wild North China leopard were found, such as content of l-methionine, n-acetyl-l-tyrosine, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid. Differentially abundant gut microbes were associated with fecal metabolites, especially the bacteria in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, involved in the metabolism of N-acetyl-L-alanine and D-quinovose.ConclusionThis study reports for the first time the differences in gut microbiota abundance between captive and wild North China leopard, as well as significant differences in fecal metabolic phenotypes between two groups.

【 授权许可】

CC BY