Microbiome analysis reveals gut microbiota alteration of early-weaned Yimeng black goats with the effect of milk replacer and age

Abstract

Background Colonization of intestinal microbiota in ruminant during the early life is important to host health, metabolism and immunity. Accumulating evidence revealed the ameliorative effect of milk replacer administration in the gut microbial development of early-weaned ruminants. Yimeng black goats (YBGs) inhabiting Shandong, China show a complex intestinal microbial ecosystem, but studies of their gut microbiota are still insufficient to report. Here, this study was performed to investigate how the gut microbiota develops in weaned YBGs with the effect of age and milk replacer. Results Results indicated that both age and milk replacer were important factors to change the gut microbiota of YBGs. Although the alpha diversity of gut microbiota did not change with the age of YBGs, the taxonomic compositions significantly changed. The relative abundance of some beneficial bacteria such as Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Ruminiclostridium, Eubacterium and Barnesiella significantly decreased and subsequently increase with age, which contributes to maintain the stability of intestinal environment and realize the diversity of intestinal functions. The relative abundance of Porphyromonas, Brevundimonas, Flavobacterium, Stenotrophomonas, Propionibacterium, Acinetobacter, Enterococcus and Clostridium belong to pathogenic bacteria in milk replacer-treated YBGs was significantly decreased. Additionally, some beneficial bacteria such as Ruminococcus, Ruminococcaceae, Christensenellaceae and Ruminiclostridium also display a trend of decreasing first followed by gradually increasing. Conclusions This study first revealed the gut bacterial community alterations in YBGs with the effect of age and milk replacer. This study also characterized the gut microbial distribution in YBGs with different ages and provided better insight into microbial population structure and diversity of YBGs. Moreover, milk replacer may serve as a good applicant for improving gut microbial development in early-weaned YBGs.

Comparative analysis of gut microbiota in healthy and diarrheic yaks

“…Anecdotal evidence indicated that the gut microbiota vary dynamically within limits and affected by species, age and feed, but these physiological fluctuations cannot impair the normal intestinal functions [ 31 , 32 ]. However, the ecological balance of of gut microbiota can be disrupted by multiple factors including diabetes, antibiotics and diarrhea [ 33 , 34 ].…”

“…This study indicated that Firmicutes , Bacteroidetes , Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the most preponderant microbial phyla in yaks, regardless of health status, which was in line with previous investigations on yaks [ 24 ]. Additionally, these dominant phyla were also demonstrated to be extensively existed in the goats, giraffes and cattle, indicating their importance in intestinal ecology and functions in ruminants [ 31 , 41 ]. Some specific bacterial and fungal alternations may reflect the potential relationship between diarrhea and gut microbiota, thus we further characterized the intestinal bacteria and fungi associated with diarrhea.…”

Metabolic Alternations During Gestation in Dezhou Donkeys and the Link to the Gut Microbiota

“…A previous study showed that compared with prepartum mares, postpartum mares had an increased relative abundance of the Firmicutes phylum (specifically family Streptocococcaceae) and a corresponding decrease in the relative abundance of the family Lachnospiraceae (also in the Firmicutes phylum) ( Weese et al, 2015 ). Generally, Clostridium sensu stricto and Streptococcus commonly considered two opportunistic pathogens of the animal intestine ( Milinovich et al, 2008 ; Boyle et al, 2018 ; Liang et al, 2018 ; Li et al, 2021 ). For instance, enrichment of Streptococcus spp.…”

“…Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were mainly enriched in MP. Genera from the families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae exhibit anti-inflammatory functions including Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 , and are also reported to be involved in the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) ( Liu et al, 2019 ; Vojinovic et al, 2019 ; Li et al, 2021 ; Liao R. et al, 2021 ), which are essential for the regulation of intestinal microbiota balance and the maintenance of intestinal epithelium integrity ( Tan et al, 2014 ; Kelly et al, 2015 ). Moreover, Ruminococcaceae bacteria have the ability to degrade cellulose and starch, which is closely related to feed efficiency in herbivorous animals ( Zhao et al, 2018 ).…”

Comparative Analysis of Gut Microbiota Between Healthy and Diarrheic Horses

“…By systematically exploring and comparing acquired information, the relationship between gut microbiota and diseases could be further understood, and prevention and control measures can be developed to minimize economic losses ( 21 – 23 ). Presently, the complicated composition and structure of gut microbiota in diarrheic pigs, yaks, and giraffes have been successfully analyzed based on the high-throughput sequencing technology ( 24 – 26 ). However, there are few reports on the gut microbiota of horses, and even fewer studies on the composition and structure of gut microbiota in horses in different health statuses.…”