Bacteria and methanogens differ along the gastrointestinal tract of Chinese roe deer (Capreolus pygargus)

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 9;9(12):e114513. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114513. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The current study provides the insight into the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and methanogens presented in the rumen and cecum of the Chinese roe deer (Capreolus pygargus). The ruminal, ileal, cecal, and colonic contents, as well as feces, were obtained from each of the three, free-range, roe deer ingesting natural pasture after euthanasia. For the bacterial community, a total of 697,031 high-quality 16S rRNA gene sequences were generated using high-throughput sequencing, and assigned to 2,223 core operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (12 bacterial phyla and 87 genera). The phyla Firmicutes (51.2%) and Bacteroidetes (39.4%) were the dominant bacteria in the GIT of roe deer. However, the bacterial community in the rumen was significantly (P<0.01) different from the other sampled regions along the GIT. Secondly, Prevotella spp., Anaerovibrio spp., and unidentified bacteria within the families Veillonellaceae and Paraprevotellaceae were more abundant in the rumen than in the other regions. Unidentified bacteria within the family Enterobacteriaceae, Succinivibrio spp., and Desulfovibrio spp. were more predominant in the colon than in other regions. Unidentified bacteria within the family Ruminococcaceae, and Bacteroides spp. were more prevalent in the ileum, cecum and fecal pellets. For methanogens in the rumen and cecum, a total of 375,647 high quality 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained and assigned to 113 core OTUs. Methanobrevibacter millerae was the dominant species accounting for 77.3±7.4 (S.E) % and 68.9±4.4 (S.E) % of total sequences in the rumen and cecum of roe deer, respectively. However, the abundance of Methanobrevibacter smithii was higher in the rumen than in the cecum (P = 0.004). These results revealed that there was intra variation in the bacterial community composition across the GIT of roe deer, and also showed that the methanogen community in the rumen differed from that in the cecum.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteria / metabolism*
  • Cecum / microbiology*
  • Deer / microbiology*
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Male
  • Methane / metabolism*
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Rumen / microbiology*
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Methane

Grants and funding

This work is supported by a leading talent and creative team project (20121810), natural science foundation (20130101104JC) from Jilin province, key projects in the national science & technology pillar program (2011BAI03B02), and Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GREKF14-14). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.