The Distribution And Function Prediction Of Intestinal Microbiota In Donkey

Microorganism is an indispensable part of the life process of animal body,which plays a coordinating role in the growth and reproduction of organism,nutrition metabolism and life evolution.Donkeys are monogastric herbivores,so microbiota is especially important in the large intestine for their providing about 30 percens in our preliminary experiments,so it is necessary to carry out a systematic study microbiota of their distribution law and function prediction on donkeys.This paper used 16s rRNA genes sequencing technolot of the body's energy needed.At present,the basic microbial data for the healthy intestines of equine animals are only available from horses,but there are significant differences inthe intestinal microorganisms between horses and donkeys.Combined with the technique of molecular biology,bioinformatics,meteorological chromatography analysis technology,PICRUSt and FAPROTAX function prediction technology,we carried out a systematic study on the distribution rule and function prediction of donkey intestinal microflora.The majority of studies focused on gut microbiota closely associated with factors in donkeys management such as difference between donkey and horse,individual developmental stage of donkeys,the different digestive tract,reproductive cycle of jennies,and feeding sequence of concentrate and so on.The purpose of this study was to characterize the microbial 'map' with the growth and development process,digestive tract space and concentrate feeding sequence,and the predictive function.The main research results of this paper were as follows:1.There were significant differences in the microbial structureand diversity of the alimentary canal(P<0.01)between horse and donkey,especially at the front and the end of thedigestive tract;the stability of microorganisms in the gut of donkey was higher than that of horse;according to the classification level and function,the decomposition ability of microbial fiber in horse's digestive tract was significantly higher than that of donkey(P<0.01).2.The younger the donkey was,the lower microbiota diversity and richness of digestive tract was,and the function was more monotonous;the increasing of Cellulolytic bacteria with age;the structure or function microorganism of 7-month-old was already similar to that of adult donkey.The younger the age,the more stable.3.There were abundant and constantly changing microbial communities in different parts of the digestive tract of donkey.The richness and diversity of the bacterial community in the hindgut was much higher than that in the forgut;at phylum level,the Firmicutes was dominant in the foregut,while Firmicutes and Bacteroides were abundant in the hindgut;at the genus level,Lactobacillus was dominant in the foregut,while Streptococcus was more dominant in the hindgut.The function of the bacteria in different parts of the digestive tract was consistent with the physiological function of the same part of the digestive tract.For example,the microbes in the foregut were more active at carbohydrate metabolism,and in the hindgut were more active at amino acid metabolism.4.There were differences in the structure and function of intestinal microorganisms in female donkeys at different reproductive cycles.For example,the relative abundance of Firmicutes in lactation was significantly higher than that in pregnancy and empty pregnancy period(P<0.05),and Bacteroidetes in pregnancy were significantly higher than those in the other two groups(P<0.05).The differences were greatest among females in the nonpregnancy group,where the relative abundance of proteobacteria ranged from 2%to 31%.Combined with the analysis of the correlation between metabolic function and microflora,it was speculated that the metabolic function of intestinal microorganisms in donkey during lactation was weaker than that during pregnancy.5.The feeding sequence of the concentration had little effect on the microbial richness and diversity of the intestinal tract and the microbial fermentation parameters(pH value and VFA)of the posterior digestive tract,which only existed in the anterior digestive tract.The TMR feeding method has the least effect on microorganisms among the three feeding orders,so in practice,donkeys are also suitable for TMR feeding.This conclusion was limited to the use of mixed feed,the suitability of other grains needs further verification.According to the obtained results,there were significant differences in intestinal microorganisms among species of equine animals(horse and donkey),and there were significant time dynamics and stability with growth and changes in different physiological states,as well as differences in spatial distribution of digestive tract and species.This temporal and spatial dynamic change in equine animals is attribute tothe adaptation of the host and microorganisms to environmental changes(such as changes in feeding patterns,etc.),which is mainly influenced by endogenous factors(different stages of ontogeny,different species,different parts of digestive tractand different physiological states)and exogenous factors(changes in feeding patterns,etc.).This study provided the basic data of growth and development,the parts of digestivetract,feeding process and intestinal microbial composition and function between species and genera of equine in healthy state,providing scientific basis for scientific breedingof donkeys.