AUTHOR=Liu Zhigang , Yin Baishuang 

TITLE=Alterations in the Gut Microbial Composition and Diversity of Tibetan Sheep Infected With Echinococcus granulosus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.778789

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.778789

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=Hydatidosis/Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus is a parasitic zoonotic disease worldwide, threatening animal health, production and public health safety. However, it is still unclear that whether Echinococcus granulosus infection can result in the alteration of gut microbiota in Tibetan sheep. Therefore, a study was designed to investigate the influences of Echinococcus granulosus infection on gut microbiota of Tibetan sheep. A total of ten ovine small intestinal contents (five from healthy and five from infected) were obtained and subjected to high-throughput sequencing by MiSeq platform. A total of 239,5641 sequences and 585 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most dominant phyla in all samples. Moreover, the proportions of Armatimonadetes and Firmicutes in the infected Tibetan sheep were significantly decreased, whereas Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria had significantly increased. At the genus level, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group were the predominant bacterial genera in all the samples. Furthermore, the healthy Tibetan sheep exhibited higher abundances of Intestinimonas, Butyrivibrio, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Ruminococcaceae, Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group, Oxobacter, Prevotella_1, Ruminiclostridium_6, Coprococcus_1, Ruminococcus, Lachnospiraceae_UCG-002, Olsenella and Cetitomaculum, whereas Kocuria, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Slackia, Achromobacter and Stenotrophomonas levels were lower. In conclusion, our results conveyed an information that Echinococcus granulosus infection may cause an increase in pathogenic bacteria and a decrease in beneficial bacteria. Additionally, a significant dynamical change in gut microbiota could be associated with Echinococcus granulosus infection.