The gut microbiota of wild wintering great bustard ( Otis tarda dybowskii ): survey data from two consecutive years

PeerJ

article

Zhiyuan Lu¹  Sisi Li¹  Hongxia Li¹  Zhucheng Wang²  Derong Meng²  Jingze Liu¹ 

[1] Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University;College of Life Sciences, Cangzhou Normal University;Hebei Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Conservation

关键词: Great Bustard;    Gut microbiota;    High-throughput sequencing;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12562

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe composition of the intestinal microbiota plays a significant role in modulating host health. It serves as a sensitive evaluation indicator and has substantial implications in protecting endangered species. Great Bustards are typical farmland-dependent wintering birds that are highly susceptible to the interference of human activities. However, information regarding their gut microbiota remains scarce.MethodsTo ensure a comprehensive analysis of this crucial data, we collected fecal samples from wild Great Bustards at their wintering habitat for two consecutive years. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was subsequently applied to characterize their core gut microbiota and determine whether the gut microbial composition was similar or varied interannually.ResultsThe gut microbiota of the Great Bustard was primarily comprised of four phyla: Firmicutes (82.87%), Bacteroidetes (7.98%), Proteobacteria (4.49%), and Actinobacteria (3.67%), accounting for 99.01% of the microbial community in all samples. Further analysis revealed 22 genera of core microbes and several pathogens. Notably, there were no significant differences in the alpha-diversity and beta-diversity between the two sample groups from different years.ConclusionsThis study provides essential information for assessing the health and developing targeted protective measures of this threatened species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY