Comparative analysis of the gastrointestinal microbial communities of bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) in different breeding patterns by high-throughput sequencing.

The bar-headed goose is currently one of the most popular species for rare birds breeding in China. However, bar-headed geese in captivity display a reduced reproductive rate. The gut microbiome has been shown to influence host factors such as nutrient and energy metabolism, immune homeostasis and reproduction. It is therefore of great scientific and agriculture value to analyze the microbial communities associated with bar-headed geese in order to improve their reproductive rate. Here we describe the first comparative study of the gut microbial communities of bar-headed geese in three different breeding pattern groups by 16SrRNA sequences using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The results showed that Firmicutes predominated (58.33%) among wild bar-headed geese followed by Proteobacteria (30.67%), Actinobacteria (7.33%) and Bacteroidetes (3.33%). In semi-artificial breeding group, Firmicutes was also the most abundant bacteria (62.00%), followed by Bacteroidetes (28.67%), Proteobacteria (4.20%), Actinobacteria (3.27%) and Fusobacteria (1.51%). The microbial communities of artificial breeding group were dominated by Firmicutes (60.67%), Fusobacteria (29.67%) and Proteobacteria (9.33%). Wild bar-headed geese had a significant higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, while semi-artificial breeding bar-headed geese had significantly more Bacteroidetes. The semi-artificial breeding group had the highest microbial community diversity and richness, followed by wild group, and then the artificial breeding group. The marked differences of genus level group-specific microbes create a baseline for future bar-headed goose microbiology research.

Wang W ，Cao J ，Li JR ，Yang F ，Li Z ，Li LX ... -  《-》

Metagenomic profiling of gut microbial communities in both wild and artificially reared Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus).

Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), a species endemic to Asia, has become one of the most popular species in recent years for rare bird breeding industries in several provinces of China. There has been no information on the gut metagenome configuration in both wild and artificially reared Bar-headed geese, even though the importance of gut microbiome in vertebrate nutrient and energy metabolism, immune homeostasis and reproduction is widely acknowledged. In this study, metagenomic methods have been used to describe the microbial community structure and composition of functional genes associated with both wild and artificially reared Bar-headed goose. Taxonomic analyses revealed that Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the four most abundant phyla in the gut of Bar-headed geese. Bacteroidetes were significantly abundant in the artificially reared group compared to wild group. Through functional profiling, we found that artificially reared Bar-headed geese had higher bacterial gene content related to carbohydrate transport and metabolism, energy metabolism and coenzyme transport, and metabolism. A comprehensive gene catalog of Bar-headed geese metagenome was built, and the metabolism of carbohydrate, amino acid, nucleotide, and energy were found to be the four most abundant categories. These results create a baseline for future Bar-headed goose microbiology research, and make an original contribution to the artificial rearing of this bird.

Wang W ，Zheng S ，Sharshov K ，Sun H ，Yang F ，Wang X ，Li L ，Xiao Z ... -  《MicrobiologyOpen》

High-throughput sequencing reveals the core gut microbiome of Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) in different wintering areas in Tibet.

Elucidating the spatial dynamic and core gut microbiome related to wild bar-headed goose is of crucial importance for probiotics development that may meet the demands of bar-headed goose artificial breeding industries and accelerate the domestication of this species. However, the core microbial communities in the wild bar-headed geese remain totally unknown. Here, for the first time, we present a comprehensive survey of bar-headed geese gut microbial communities by Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology using nine individuals from three distinct wintering locations in Tibet. A total of 236,676 sequences were analyzed, and 607 OTUs were identified. We show that the gut microbial communities of bar-headed geese have representatives of 14 phyla and are dominated by Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. The additive abundance of these four most dominant phyla was above 96% across all the samples. At the genus level, the sequences represented 150 genera. A set of 19 genera were present in all samples and considered as core gut microbiome. The top seven most abundant core genera were distributed in that four dominant phyla. Among them, four genera (Lactococcus, Bacillus, Solibacillus, and Streptococcus) belonged to Firmicutes, while for other three phyla, each containing one genus, such as Proteobacteria (genus Pseudomonas), Actinobacteria (genus Arthrobacter), and Bacteroidetes (genus Bacteroides). This broad survey represents the most in-depth assessment, to date, of the gut microbes that associated with bar-headed geese. These data create a baseline for future bar-headed goose microbiology research, and make an original contribution to probiotics development for bar-headed goose artificial breeding industries.

Wang W ，Cao J ，Yang F ，Wang X ，Zheng S ，Sharshov K ，Li L ... -  《MicrobiologyOpen》

Comparative analyses of the gut microbiota among three different wild geese species in the genus Anser.

In this study, we characterized for the first time the gut microbiota of Greylag geese (Anser anser) using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. The results showed that the phyla Firmicutes (78.55%), Fusobacteria (9.38%), Proteobacteria (7.55%), Bacteroidetes (1.82%), Cyanobacteria (1.44%), and Actinobacteria (0.61%) dominated the gut microbial communities in the Greylag geese. Then, the variations of gut microbial community structures and functions among the three geese species, Greylag geese, Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus), and Swan geese (Anser cygnoides), were explored. The greatest gut microbial diversity was found in Bar-headed geese group, while other two groups had the least. The dominant bacterial phyla across all samples were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, but several characteristic bacterial phyla and genera associated with each group were also detected. At all taxonomic levels, the microbial community structure of Swan geese was different from those of Greylag geese and Bar-headed geese, whereas the latter two groups were less different. Functional KEGG categories and pathways associated with carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, and amino acid metabolism were differentially expressed among different geese species. Taken together, this study could provide valuable information to the vast, and yet little explored, research field of wild birds gut microbiome.

Wang W ，Liu Y ，Yang Y ，Wang A ，Sharshov K ，Li Y ，Cao M ，Mao P ，Li L ... -  《-》

Distinctive gut microbial community structure in both the wild and farmed Swan goose (Anser cygnoides).

Swan goose (Anser cygnoides) is currently one of the most popular economic wildfowl for rare birds breeding industries in several provinces of China. However, the farmed Swan geese, reared in artificial environment and fed on both natural and artificial diets, display a reduced reproductive rate compared to wild species. Little is known about the gut microbiota of this species, which could play a role in nutrient and energy metabolism, immune homeostasis and reproduction. The present comparative study was designed to provide a first characterization of gut microbial communities related to both wild and farmed Swan geese by 16 S rRNA sequences using the Illumina HiSeq platform. The results showed that dominant microbial components in both groups consisted of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. The abundances of these four phyla were not statistically different between the groups. At the genus level, significantly decreased abundance of Clostridium and increased abundance of SMB53, Enterococcus and Paenibacillus were observed in farmed group compared to wild group. The marked differences of genus level group-specific microbes create a baseline for future Swan goose microbiology research and make a valuable contribution to forming relationships between gut microbiota and domestic bird reproduction.

Wang W ，Zheng S ，Sharshov K ，Cao J ，Sun H ，Yang F ，Wang X ，Li L ... -  《-》