The Reindeer Rumen Microbiome

Sundset, Monica A.; Salgado-Flores, Alejandro; Wright, André‐Denis G.; Pope, Phillip B.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_664-1

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The geographic isolation of reindeer from other Cervidae ruminants, in combination with the specific environmental conditions present, has resulted in certain morphologic and functional adaptations in the digestive system [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], including the specific microbial population of the rumen. The rumen is a digestive organ in ruminants where the major degradation of complex polysaccharides from botanical diet ingredients occurs through enzymatic systems of the symbiotic microbial population [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Comparative Analysis of the Ruminal Bacterial Population in Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) from the Russian Arctic Zone: Regional and Seasonal Effects

Ильина¹,

Филиппова²,

Brazhnik³

et al. 2021

Animals

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The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) is a unique animal inhabitant of arctic regions. Low ambient temperatures and scant diets (primarily, lichens) have resulted in different evolutional adaptations, including the composition of the ruminal microbiota. In the study presented here, the effects of seasonal and regional aspects of the composition of the ruminal microbiota in reindeer (Nenets breed, 38 animals) were studied (wooded tundra from the Yamalo-Nenetski Autonomous District (YNAD) vs. from the Nenetski Autonomous District (NAD)). The ruminal content of calves (n = 12) and adult animals (n = 26, 15 males and 11 females) was sampled in the summer (n = 16) and winter seasons (n = 22). The composition of the ruminal microbial population was determined by the V3-V4 16S rRNA gene region sequencing. It was found that the population was dominated by Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla, followed by Spirochaetes and Verrucomicrobia. An analysis of the community using non-metric multidimensional scaling and Bray–Curtis similarity metrics provided evidence that the most influential factors affecting the composition of ruminal microbiota are the region (p = 0.001) and season (p = 0.001); heat map analysis revealed several communities that are strongly affected by these two factors. In the summer season, the following communities were significantly larger compared to in the winter season: Coriobactriaceae, Erysipelothrihaceae, and Mycoplasmataceae. The following communities were significantly larger in the winter season compared to in summer: Paraprevotellaceae, Butyrivibrio spp., Succiniclasticum spp., Coprococcus spp., Ruminococcus spp., and Pseudobutyrivibrio spp. In NAD (tundra), the following communities were significantly larger in comparison to YNAD (wooded tundra): Verrucomicrobia (Verruco-5), Anaerolinaceae, PeHg47 Planctomycetes, cellulolytic Lachnospiraceae, and Succiniclasticum spp. The following bacterial groups were significantly larger in YNAD in comparison to NAD: cellulolytic Ruminococaceae, Dehalobacteriaceae, Veillionelaceae, and Oscilospira spp. The significant differences in the ruminal microbial population were primarily related to the ingredients of diets, affected by region and season. The summer-related increases in the communities of certain pathogens (Mycoplasmataceae, Fusobacterium spp., Porphyromonas endodentalis) were found. Regional differences were primarily related to the ratio of the species involved in ruminal cellulose degradation and ruminal fatty acids metabolism; these differences reflect the regional dissimilarities in botanical diet ingredients.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Comparative Analysis of the Ruminal Bacterial Population in Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) from the Russian Arctic Zone: Regional and Seasonal Effects

Ильина¹,

Филиппова²,

Brazhnik³

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Reindeer are ruminant and intermediate mixed feeders highly adapted to the contrasted Arctic seasonality with changes in chemistry, digestibility, and availability of the pasture plants (Hofmann 1989; Hofmann, 2011; Mathiesen et al 1999; Mathiesen et al 2000a; Mathiesen et al 2000b; Storeheier et al 2003). Reindeer also rely on a unique and complex symbiotic microbiome of anaerobic bacteria, archaea, fungi and ciliates within their reticulo-rumen and distal fermentation chambers (caecum and proximal colon) for the digestion and utilisation of their heterogenous diet of arctic plants and lichen (Sundset et al 2007; Sundset et al 2009; Pope et al 2012; Sundset et al 2013; Salgado-Flores et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA metabarcoding diet analysis in ruminants is quantitative and integrates feeding over several weeks

Kamenova,

Meyer,

Brysting

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Dietary DNA metabarcoding is an established method, especially useful for resolving the diverse diets of large mammalian herbivores (LMH). However, despite longstanding research interest on the topic, we still lack unequivocal evidence on the potential of DNA metabarcoding to reflect proportions of ingested dietary plants in LMH. One major aspect to consider is the time window during which ingested diet remains detectable in faecal samples. This parameter is currently unknown for LMH, thus potentially hindering the scope of ecological conclusions. Another unknown factor is quantitative performance, i.e. the extent to which the amount of ingested biomass can be assessed based on sequence read abundances. We assessed DNA metabarcoding quantitative performance and DNA half-life detectability for plants with different digestibilities in a controlled feeding experiment with three female Eurasian tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Reindeer were fed birch twigs (Betula pubescens) and increasing biomass of lichen (mainlyCladonia stellaris). Relative read abundance positively correlated with ingested lichen biomass, suggesting potential for deriving dietary proportions in free-ranging reindeer on natural pastures. Dietary DNA was consistently detected within a few hours upon ingestion, with a mean half-life detectability of 30 and 14 hours for birch and lichen, respectively. However, dietary DNA remained detectable in faeces for at least 26 days post-feeding, indicating that a single faecal sample can provide an unsuspectedly integrative estimate of diet in ruminants. Together, our findings provide novel empirical validation of DNA metabarcoding as a tool for diet analysis in LMH.

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Resilience Thinking in Reindeer Husbandry

Tonkopeeva,

Skum,

Krarup-Hansen

et al. 2023

Springer Polar Sciences

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Resilience expresses the capacity of a social-ecological system to adapt to, absorb, or withstand perturbations and other stressors so that the system remains. Reindeer nomadic husbandry is a coupled social-ecological system that sustains resilience by interacting with the animals and environment: either the herders adjust their actions to animal behavior or change this behavior in ways that suit the herd and pastures. Stressors and shocks affecting Sámi reindeer husbandry are, for instance, sudden warm air temperatures with subsequent snow melting and freezing in winter, bad grazing conditions, loss of grazing lands, and even socio-economic reforms. All these are sudden, unprepared, or forced changes. Climate change resilience includes using reindeer herders’ Indigenous knowledge of selective breeding by maintaining different phenotypes of reindeer such as non-productive and castrated animals in the herd. Nevertheless, in Sámi reindeer husbandry in Norway today, low numbers of male reindeer and the absence of castrated animals challenge the herders’ resilience coping strategies. This chapter discusses factors that constrain resilience in herding societies, contribute to the transformation of reindeer husbandry and the erosion of resilience in the herding society.

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The Reindeer Rumen Microbiome

Cited by 4 publications

References 48 publications

The Comparative Analysis of the Ruminal Bacterial Population in Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) from the Russian Arctic Zone: Regional and Seasonal Effects

The Comparative Analysis of the Ruminal Bacterial Population in Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) from the Russian Arctic Zone: Regional and Seasonal Effects

DNA metabarcoding diet analysis in ruminants is quantitative and integrates feeding over several weeks

Resilience Thinking in Reindeer Husbandry

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