AUTHOR=Bao Wuyundalai , Yu Jinghe , He Yuxing , Liu Mingchao , Yang Xiaofeng 

TITLE=The diversity analysis and gene function prediction of intestinal bacteria in three equine species

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.973828

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.973828

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=The intestinal flora has a variety of physiological functions involved in the regulation of host metabolism, immunity and endocrinology, and plays an important role in maintaining the health of the host. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the intestinal bacterial diversity and their gene functions in three equine species of the genus Debao Pony (DP), Mongolian Wild Ass (MA) and Plain Zebra (PZ) in captivity in two wildlife parks in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The results showed that only the DP intestinal bacterial abundance index (Chao1) was significantly different (P<0.05) between the same species in the two wildlife parks, but neither the intestinal bacterial diversity index (Shannon) nor the community composition were significantly different (P>0.05). The bacterial abundance index (Chao1) was significantly higher in MA than DP (P<0.05) and highly significantly higher than PZ (P<0.01); the bacterial diversity index (Shannon) was higher in MA than PZ, but there was no significant difference, but both MA and PZ were significantly higher than DP (P<0.05). Moreover, the intestinal bacterial community composition was significantly different among the three equine species (P=0.001). The dominant bacterial phyla for DP, MA and PZ were Firmicutes and Bacteroidota; among them, the bacterial family with the highest relative abundance was Lachnospiraceae and the bacterial genus was Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group. Analysis of the metabolic gene functions of intestinal bacteria revealed that the highest relative abundance at Pathway level 2 was for global and overview maps; at Pathway level 3, the highest relative abundance was for biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In sum, the intestinal bacterial community composition and diversity of the above three equine species differed significantly, but their metabolic gene functions were similar. Moreover, the results of this paper fill the gap in the study of intestinal bacterial diversity in Debao Pony, Mongolian Wild Ass and Plains Zebra. It also provides a reference for the study of the dominant bacteria in the intestinal microorganisms of these three equine species and the discovery of novel functional genes.