AUTHOR=Jiao Jinzhen , Wu Jian , Zhou Chuanshe , Tang Shaoxun , Wang Min , Tan Zhiliang 

TITLE=Composition of Ileal Bacterial Community in Grazing Goats Varies across Non-rumination, Transition and Rumination Stages of Life

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01364

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01364

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The establishment of gut microbiota is increasingly recognized as a crucial action in neonatal development, host health and productivity. We hypothesized that the ileal microbiome shifted as goats matured, and this colonization process would be associated with host fermentation capacity. To this end, 18 Liuyang black grazing goats were randomly slaughtered at d 0, 7, 28, 42, and 70. Ileal microbiota was profiled by Miseq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene of bacteria, and fermentation capacity [volatile fatty acid, activities of amylase, carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) and xylanase] was determined using digesta sample. Principal coordinate analysis revealed that each age group harbored its distinct bacteria. Total bacteria copy number and most alpha diversity indexes increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01) from d 0 to 70. At the phylum level, abundances of <italic>Cyanobacteria</italic> (<italic>P</italic> = 0.018) and <italic>TM7</italic> (<italic>P</italic> = 0.010) increased linearly, abundances of <italic>Bacteroidetes</italic> (<italic>P</italic> = 0.075) and <italic>Fibrobacteres</italic> (<italic>P</italic> = 0.076) tended to increase linearly, whist <italic>Proteobacteria</italic> abundance tended to decline quadratically (<italic>P</italic> = 0.052) with age. At the genus level, <italic>Enterococcus</italic> (30.9%), <italic>Lactobacillus</italic> (32.8%), and <italic>Escherichia</italic> (2.0%) dominated at d 0, while <italic>Prevotella</italic>, <italic>Butyrivibrio</italic>, <italic>Ruminococcus</italic>, <italic>SMB53</italic>, and <italic>Fibrobacter</italic> surged in abundance after day 20. The highest amylase activity was observed at day 42, while xylanase activity increased quadratically (<italic>P</italic> = 0.002) from days 28 to 70. Correlation analysis indicated that abundances of <italic>Bacteroides</italic>, <italic>Clostridium</italic>, <italic>Lactobacillus</italic>, <italic>Propionibacterium, Enterococcus</italic>, and <italic>p-75-a5</italic> positively correlated with enzyme activity. Collectively, ileal bacteria in grazing goats assemble into distinct communities throughout development, and might participate in the improvement of host fermentation capacity.</p>