Comparative Analysis of Microbiome Metagenomics in Reintroduced Wild Horses and Resident Asiatic Wild Asses in the Gobi Desert Steppe

Abstract

The gut microbiome offers important ecological benefits to the host; however, our understanding of the functional microbiome in relation to wildlife adaptation, especially for translocated endangered species, is lagging. In this study, we adopted a comparative metagenomics approach to test whether the microbiome diverges for translocated and resident species with different adaptive potentials. The composition and function of the microbiome of sympatric Przewalski’s horses and Asiatic wild asses in desert steppe were compared for the first time using the metagenomic shotgun sequencing approach. We identified a significant difference in microbiome composition regarding the microbes present and their relative abundances, while the diversity of microbe species was similar. Furthermore, the functional profile seemed to converge between the two hosts, with genes related to core metabolism function tending to be more abundant in wild asses. Our results indicate that sympatric wild equids differ in their microbial composition while harboring a stable microbial functional core, which may enable them to survive in challenging habitats. A higher abundance of beneficial taxa, such as Akkermansia, and genes related to metabolism pathways and enzymes, such as lignin degradation, may contribute to more diverse diet choices and larger home ranges of wild asses.

Gut microbial community structure and function of Przewalski's horses varied across reintroduced sites in China

“…2022; Tang et al. 2022). Basically, genomic DNA was sheared by sonication using a Covaris M220 (Gene Company Limited, Hong Kong, China) to a size of approximately 400 bp.…”

“…Six samples from each location with high DNA quality were selected for shotgun metagenomic sequencing, which was performed as described previously (Yan et al 2022;Tang et al 2022). Basically, genomic DNA was sheared by sonication using a Covaris M220 (Gene Company Limited, Hong Kong, China) to a size of approximately 400 bp.…”