ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the changes in rumen microbiome during the process of age development of farming Guizhou White goats from Southwest China. We conducted high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the diversity, structure, and composition of goat rumen microbiota (RM) of 21 goats of different age groups (1, 6, and 12 months). We found that volatile fatty acids (i.e., acetate, propionate, and butyrate) fermented by microbes were found to increase significantly in the six- and one-month-old goats. Results of the genera abundance analysis showed that abundance of eight and seven taxa decreased in six- and one-month-old goats, respectively, compared with that in 12-month-old goats. Additionally, differences in six taxa in six-month-old goats and in one taxon in one-month-old goats were found. In addition, specific gut microbiome was found, which was significantly correlated with rumen fermentation parameters in Guizhou White goats. These results revealed the signature microbiota in RM during various developmental stages in goats raised in Southwest China and can also provide a guiding tool for evaluating rumen health of ruminants worldwide.
age development; dynamics distribution; fermentation; rumen microorganisms
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Groups: K - kids; F - fattening goats; A - adult goats.Statistical significance was accepted at P<0.05.** P<0.01.
Groups: K - kids; F - fattening goats; A - adult goats.VFA - volatile fatty acids.Comparison of rumen NH3-N (A) and pH values (B). Significant differences of total VFA (C), acetate (D), propionate (E), and butyrate (F) were found. Differences of isobutyrate (G), valerate (H), and isovalerate (I). An ANOVA test was used for significance calculation after detection of homogeneity of variance.Statistical significance was accepted at P<0.05.* P<0.05; ** P<0.01.
Groups: K - kids; F - fattening goats; A - adult goats.A: Shannon index; B: Simpson index; C: ACE index; D: Chao1 index; E and F: PCoA analysis by using Bray-curtis and Jaccard distance, respectively; G: Venn diagram; H: ANOSIM analysis.Points of different colors represent different groups. The distance between the two points represents the difference of RM. The numbers in the figure represent the unique or common operational taxonomic unit in each group.Statistical significance was accepted at P<0.05.* P<0.05; ** P<0.01.
OTU - operational taxonomic unit.Groups: K - kids; F - fattening goats; A - adult goats.Each curve represents a sample. A and B: rank-abundance curves; C and D: rarefaction curves describe effects of sequences on the number of OTU identified.Abscissa: the species abundance order; ordinate: relative abundance of the species.
Groups: K - kids; F - fattening goats; A - adult goats.Each bar represents the relative abundance of each bacterial taxon.Taxa distributions at phylum (A), family (B), and genus (C) level.
Groups: K - kids; F - fattening goats; A - adult goats.Significant differences of bacterial taxa between groups A and F (A, B), between A and K (C, D), and between F and K (E, F).Only scores that reached the linear discriminant analysis threshold >3.0 are displayed.