Analysis of the gut microbiota composition of myostatin mutant cattle prepared using CRISPR/Cas9

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 4;17(3):e0264849. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264849. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Myostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates muscle development and positively regulates metabolism through various pathways. Although MSTN function in cattle has been widely studied, the changes in the gut microbiota due to MSTN mutation, which contribute to host health by regulating its metabolism, remain unclear. Here, high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was conducted to analyze the gut microbiota of wild-type (WT) and MSTN mutant (MT) cattle. A total of 925 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained, which were classified into 11 phyla and 168 genera. Alpha diversity results showed no significant differences between MT and WT cattle. Beta diversity analyses suggested that the microbial composition of WT and MT cattle was different. Three dominant phyla and 21 dominant genera were identified. The most abundant bacterial genus had a significant relationship with the host metabolism. Moreover, various bacteria beneficial for health were found in the intestines of MT cattle. Analysis of the correlation between dominant gut bacteria and serum metabolic factors affected by MSTN mutation indicated that MSTN mutation affected the metabolism mainly by three metabolism-related bacteria, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-013, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-010. This study provides further insight into MSTN mutation regulating the host metabolism by gut microbes and provides evidence for the safety of gene-edited animals.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Cattle
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome* / genetics
  • Myostatin / genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics

Substances

  • Myostatin
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Inner Mongolia Natural Science Foundation (2021BS08013), the Baotou Teachers College High-level Research Achievement Cultivation Project (BSYKJ2021-ZQ03), the Baotou City Youth Innovative Talents Project (2010,6333) and the High-level Talents Introduced Scientific Research Startup Fund Project of Baotou Teacher’s College (BTTCRCQD2020-003). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.