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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbial Symbioses
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1387957
This article is part of the Research Topic Unravelling the Unknown of the Rumen Microbiome: Implications for Animal Health, Productivity, and Beyond View all articles

Hybridization alters red deer gut microbiome and metabolites

Provisionally accepted
Limin Wei Limin Wei 1Bo Zeng Bo Zeng 2Bo Li Bo Li 3Wei Guo Wei Guo 4Zhenqiang Mu Zhenqiang Mu 1Yunong Gan Yunong Gan 4Yanhong Li Yanhong Li 5*
  • 1 Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, China
  • 2 Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, Sichuan, China
  • 3 Aba Teachers University, Aba, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 5 Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The host genes play a crucial role in shaping the composition and structure of the gut microbiome. Red deer is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and its pilose antlers have good medicinal value.Hybridization can lead to heterosis, resulting in increased pilose antler production and growth performance in hybrid deer. However, the role of the gut microbiome in hybrid deer remains largely unknown. In this study, alpha and beta diversity analysis showed that hybridization altered the composition and structure of the gut microbiome of the offspring, with the composition and structure of the hybrid offspring being more similar to those of of the paternal parents. Interestingly, the LefSe differential analysis showed that there were some significantly enriched gut microbiome in the paternal parents (such as g_Prevotellaceae UCG-003, f_Bacteroidales RF16 group; Ambiguous_taxa, etc.) and the maternal parents (including g_Alistipes, g_Anaerosporobacter, etc.), which remained significantly enriched in the hybrid offspring. Additionally, the hybrid offspring exhibited a significant advantage over the parental strains, particularly in taxa that can produce short-chain fatty acids, such as g_Prevotellaceae UCG-003, g_Roseburia, g_Succinivibrio, and g_Lachnospiraceae UCG-006. Similar to bacterial transmission, metagenomic analysis showed that some signaling pathways related to pilose antler growth ("Wnt signaling pathway", "PI3K Akt signaling pathway", "MAPK signaling pathway") were also enriched in hybrid red deer after hybridization.

    Keywords: red deer, hybridization, gut microbiome, Pilose antler Gut microbiome 16SrRNA, Metagenome, Metabolome among others hybridization process. Paternal group: n = 30, maternal group, n = 30, hybrid group, n=26. (A) Ruminococcaceae, (B) F082, (C) Rikenellaceae, (D) Enterobacteriaceae, (E) Prevotellaceae, (F)

    Received: 19 Feb 2024; Accepted: 16 Apr 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wei, Zeng, Li, Guo, Mu, Gan and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yanhong Li, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou Province, China

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