A cross-sectional survey of the gut microbiome in zoo-housed herbivores: associations between taxonomic deviations and individual health status
Abstract
The health management of zoo-housed animals is important. Although clinical examinations are essential for health monitoring of the animals, many of them exhibit noncooperative behavior during examinations. It is therefore necessary to develop noninvasive health monitoring tools. Gut microbiome analysis represents a novel approach to understanding the relationship between gut microbial flora and various diseases. However, the lack of information on the normal gut microbiome of zoo animals hinders the application of microbiome analysis for health management in animals. Therefore, this study aims to obtain insight on the gut microbiomes of eight different zoo-housed herbivorous animal species, including nine eastern gray kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), four Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), one eland (Taurotragus oryx), two plains zebras (Equus quagga), two hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius), four sika deer (Cervus nippon), five sheep (Ovis aries), and two giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis). The bacterial composition in the fecal samples was determined using 16S rRNA gene-based amplicon sequencing. The results indicated that the two hindgut fermenters (elephants and zebras) had a significantly different gut microbiome composition from that of the foregut fermenters (kangaroo, eland, deer, sheep, and giraffe). In general, individuals of the same animal species were likely to have similar microbial communities. However, a few individuals demonstrated a distinct gut…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Bile Acid 7α-Dehydroxylating Gut Bacteria Secrete Antibiotics that Inhibit Clostridium difficile: Role of Secondary Bile Acids
- Ketogenic diet alleviates colitis by reduction of colonic group 3 innate lymphoid cells through altering gut microbiome
- Altered gut microbiome composition and function are associated with gut barrier dysfunction in healthy relatives of patients with Crohn's disease
- Diet, obesity, and the gut microbiome as determinants modulating metabolic outcomes in a non-human primate model
- Immune Impairment Associated with Vitamin A Deficiency: Insights from Clinical Studies and Animal Model Research
- Glyphosate-based herbicides influence antioxidants, reproductive hormones and gut microbiome but not reproduction: A long-term experiment in an avian model
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.