scholarly journals DNA metabarcoding Uncover the Diet of Subterranean Rodents in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuxin Zhang ◽  
Yao Zou ◽  
Xiaoning Nan ◽  
Chongxuan Han

AbstractObjectiveIn the past, the zokor, which lived in northern China, caused great harm to agriculture and forestry production due to its large and sophisticated diet. Since the rat lives underground for most of its life, researchers know little about its dietary habits. Further understanding of its diet in the field is of important meaning for developing green and sustainable control strategies for the rat.MethodsLongde County in Liupan Mountain area of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was selected as the interest area to capture zokor and investigate the species of habitat plants.We selected chloroplast trnL gene and eukaryotic internal transcription spacer 1 (ITS 1) primers to amplify DNA from the gastric contents of zokor,and then sequenced on Illumina Miseq PE300 platform.ResultsThe gastric contents of Eospalax smithii (n=16) and E.cansus(n=9) were analyzed by operational taxonomic units (OTU) clustering and amplicon sequence variants(ASVs).The OTU clustering method obtained 2,995 OTUs, and the ASV method obtained 4,657 ASVs. The ASV method was better than the OTU clustering method, and the ASV method was adopted in the subsequent analysis. The food list of 32 families, 80 genera and 154 species was obtained by ASV method after the error was removed. The food composition of zokor was evaluated by relative abundance(%RA) method and frequency of occurrence(%ROO) method. At the Family level, it was found that zokor mainly fed on Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Pinaceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae, etc. At the Genus level, they are mainlyEchinops, Littledalea,Artemisia,Picea, Cirsium, Elymus and so on. The diet alpha diversity of E.cansus was slightly higher than that of E.smithii (P > 0.05). The correlation coefficient between Sobs index of alpha diversity and body weight of zokor was −0.382 (P = 0.059). The diet beta diversity proved that most zokors (22/25) clustered together, with low heterogeneity. They fed positively on Calamagrostis, Cirsium, Echinops, Medicago, Sanguisorba and Taraxacum. We found that zokor mainly fed on the roots of perennial herbs(PH), which were rich in water, carbohydrate, fat and protein, which provided an important energy source for its survival.ConclusionHigh-throughput sequencing(HTS) based DNA metabarcoding technology has well revealed the diet of zokor, which are generalist.

Author(s):  
Yu Yao ◽  
Peifang Wang ◽  
Chao Wang

The world famous South-to-North Water Transfer Project was built to alleviate serious water shortages in northern China. Considering that lake Hongze is an important freshwater lake in this region, analyzing the influence of water diversion on typical contaminant bioavailability and microbial abundance could aid in achieving a good overall understanding of hydrodynamic variation. Accordingly, in situ high-resolution measurements of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) and next-generation high-throughput sequencing were combined in order to survey Lake Hongze and determine the relationship between environmental factors and microbial communities. The DGT method effectively obtained more than the 85% of bioavailable concentrations of the corresponding contaminants; the results showed that labile P, S, Fe, As, and Hg concentrations were higher in areas influenced by water transfer. Moreover, the relative abundance and alpha diversity of the sampling sites distributed in the water transfer area differed significantly from other sites. The pH, conductivity, and labile Mn, As, and P were shown to be the primary environmental factors affecting the abundance and diversity of microbes. With the exception of bioturbation-affected sites controlled by labile Mn and pH, sites distributed in the water diversion area were most affected by As and conductivity, with little spatial discrepancy. Furthermore, site 2, with higher bioturbation abundance, and site 10, with stronger hydrodynamics, had low alpha diversity compared to the other sites. Consequently, the bioavailability of typical contaminants such as P, S, As, Hg, Fe, Mg, Cd, Pb, and Mn, as well as the diversity and abundance of microbial in the sites influenced by the water diversion, were significantly different to the other sites. Thus, the impacts of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project on participant lakes were non-negligible overall in the investigation.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2352
Author(s):  
Xia Wan ◽  
Yu Jiang ◽  
Yuyan Cao ◽  
Binghua Sun ◽  
Xingjia Xiang

Odontolabis fallaciosa (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) is a giant and popular stag beetle with striking sexual dimorphism and male trimorphism. However, little is known about their intestinal microbiota, which might play an indispensable role in shaping the health of their hosts. The aim of this study was to investigate the intestinal bacterial community structure between the two sexes and among three male morphs of O. fallaciosa from China using high-throughput sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). The gut bacterial community structure was significantly different between males and females, suggesting that sex appeared to be the crucial factor shaping the intestinal bacterial community. Females had higher bacterial alpha-diversity than males. There was little difference in gut bacterial community structure among the three male morphs. However, compared to medium and small males, large individuals were associated with the higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroides (F/B) ratio, which might contribute to nutritional efficiency. Overall, these results might help to further our understanding of beetle–bacterial interactions of O. fallaciosa between the two sexes, and among the three male morphs.


Author(s):  
S Mechai ◽  
G Bilodeau ◽  
O Lung ◽  
M Roy ◽  
R Steeves ◽  
...  

Abstract Approximately 80 species of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) have been documented in Canada. Exotic species such as Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) are becoming established. Recently occurring endemic mosquito-borne diseases (MBD) in Canada including West-Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) are having significant public health impacts. Here we explore the use of DNA metabarcoding to identify mosquitoes from CDC light-trap collections from two locations in eastern Canada. Two primer pairs (BF2-BR2 and F230) were used to amplify regions of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CO1) gene. High throughput sequencing was conducted using an Illumina MiSeq platform and GenBank-based species identification was applied using a QIIME 1.9 bioinformatics pipeline. From a site in southeastern Ontario, Canada, 26 CDC light trap collections of 72 to >300 individual mosquitoes were used to explore the capacity of DNA metabarcoding to identify and quantify captured mosquitoes. The DNA metabarcoding method identified 33 species overall while 24 species were identified by key. Using replicates from each trap, the dried biomass needed to identify the majority of species was determined to be 76 mg (equivalent to approximately 72 mosquitoes), and at least two replicates from the dried biomass would be needed to reliably detect the majority of species in collections of 144–215 mosquitoes and three replicates would be advised for collections with >215 mosquitoes. This study supports the use of DNA metabarcoding as a mosquito surveillance tool in Canada which can help identify the emergence of new mosquito-borne disease potential threats.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Xiao Wu ◽  
hui Tang

Abstract PurposeTo investigate the diversity of the epiphytic bacteria on corn and alfalfa collected in Hengshui city and Xingtai city, hebei province, China.MethodsIllumina MiSeq/NovaSeq High-throughput sequencing systerm was used to conduct Paired-end sequencing of community DNA fragments from surface of corn and alfalfa in Hengshui and Xingtai. QIIME2 and R language were employed to sort and calculate the number of sequences and taxonomic units for each sample. Thereafter, the abundance, distribution, alpha diversity index of species, beta diversity and the differences of abundance among the samples were analyzed. ResultAt phylum level, the advantage bacterium group are Proteobacteria (70%), Firmicutes (13%), Actinobacteria (9%) and Bacteroidetes (7%). The dominant genera are Pseudomonas (8%), Acinetobacter (4%), Chryseobacterium (3%), Hymenobacter (1%). Enterobacteriaceae (24%) are the most predominant bacteria on both corn and alfalfa samples. Alpha diversity analysis and beta diversity analysis showed that the diversity of epiphytic microbial community was significantly affected by plant species, but not by region. The diversity and richness of epiphytic bacterial community of alfalfa were significantly higher than that of corn, yet corn had more LAB than alfalfa samples. ConclusionThis study contributes to expanding our understanding of the diversity of epiphytic microorganisms in corn and alfalfa silage and provide a basis for the selection of raw materials.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingfeng Lin ◽  
Ganlu Liu ◽  
Zhenyun Han ◽  
Qiang Gao ◽  
Zhenyi Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundXingnaojing injection (XNJ) is extracted from the Chinese ancient prescription “An-Gong-Niu-Huang Pill”, is widely used for stroke in China. We mainly observe the effect of XNJ (Xingnaojing) injection on the gut microbiota in stroke model mice.MethodsForty-two 7-to 8-week-old male C57 mice weighing 22-24 g were chosen for the experiment. There were 6 mice in each group; the 7 groups were the normal group (NG), the MCAO group (CG), the MCAO+XNJ group (EG), the sham surgery group (SG), the sham germ-free normal group (SGFNG), the sham germ-free+MCAO group (SGFCG), and the sham germ-free+MCAO+XNJ group (SGFEG). Two days before modeling, we abdominally administered Xingnaojing (6 mg/kg) the SGFEG and EG groups. The processing time of sustained XNJ was 5 days. Three days after modeling, 1 ~ 2 mouse feces were collected, and after a MiSeq PE library was constructed, an Illumina MiSeq PE 300 platform was used for high-throughput sequencing. After cleaning the sequencing data, the microbiome and microbiomeseq packages were used for analysis using R software (version 3.6.2).ResultsAlpha diversity analysis revealed that the diversity was not different between the CG and EG. The Simpson index was different between the SGFCG and SGFEG. XNJ increased the levels of Sutterellaceae and decreased the level of Deferribacteres and Morganella. LEfSe analysis showed that SGFCG mice were also enriched with Morganella. XNJ increased the concentrations of the SCFAs PA (propionate), VA (valerate), IBA (isobutyrate), and IVA (isovalerate) in the feces of the SGFEG group. BA (butyrate) had greater positive correlation with gut bacteria than other acids in the SGFCG, and XNJ changed this trend. KEGG analysis showed that peptidoglycan biosynthesis was most different between the CG and EG.ConclusionIschemic stroke (IS) causes dysbiosis of some specific bacteria in the gut microbiota in MCAO mice. Xingnaojing ameliorated this condition by increasing the levels of Sutterellaceae and decreasing the level of Deferribacteres and Morganella. These results are in accordance with other research on Chinese medicines for IS that affect the gut microbiota. Enrichment analysis of SCFAs revealed that XNJ improved the levels of SCFAs through an energy metabolism-related pathway.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 719
Author(s):  
Miaomiao Wang ◽  
Xingjia Xiang ◽  
Xia Wan

Although stag beetles are popular saprophytic insects, there are few studies about their gut bacterial community. This study focused on the gut bacterial community structure of the rainbow stag beetle (i.e., Phalacrognathus muelleri) in its larvae (three instars) and adult stages, using high throughput sequencing (Illumina Miseq). Our aim was to compare the gut bacterial community structure among different life stages. The results revealed that bacterial alpha diversity increased from the 1st instar to the 3rd instar larvae. Adults showed the lowest gut bacterial alpha diversity. Bacterial community composition was significantly different between larvae and adults (p = 0.001), and 1st instar larvae (early instar) had significant differences with the 2nd (p= 0.007) and 3rd (p = 0.001) instar larvae (final instar). However, there was little difference in the bacterial community composition between the 2nd and 3rd instar larvae (p = 0.059). Our study demonstrated dramatic shifts in gut bacterial community structure between larvae and adults. Larvae fed on decaying wood and adults fed on beetle jelly, suggesting that diet is a crucial factor shaping the gut bacterial community structure. There were significant differences in bacterial community structure between early instar and final instars larvae, suggesting that certain life stages are associated with a defined gut bacterial community.


2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meixiao Wu ◽  
Yuehua Wang ◽  
Yijing Wang ◽  
Xuefei Wang ◽  
Ming Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To investigate the diversity of the epiphytic bacteria on corn (Zea mays) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) collected in Hengshui City and Xingtai City, Hebei Province, China, and explore crops suitable for natural silage. Methods The Illumina MiSeq/NovaSeq high-throughput sequencing system was used to conduct paired-end sequencing of the community DNA fragments from the surface of corn and alfalfa collected in Hengshui and Xingtai. QIIME2 and R software were used to sort and calculate the number of sequences and taxonomic units for each sample. Thereafter, the alpha and beta diversity indices at of species level were calculated, and the abundance and distribution of taxa were analyzed and compared between samples. Result At phylum level, the dominant groups were Proteobacteria (70%), Firmicutes (13%), Actinobacteria (9%), and Bacteroidetes (7%). Meanwhile, the dominant genera were Pseudomonas (8%), Acinetobacter (4%), Chryseobacterium (3%), and Hymenobacter (1%). Enterobacteriaceae (24%) were the most predominant bacteria in both the corn and alfalfa samples. Alpha diversity analysis and beta diversity indices revealed that the diversity of epiphytic microbial communities was significantly affected by plant species but not by region. The diversity and richness of the epiphytic bacterial community of alfalfa were significantly higher than those of corn. Conclusion This study contributes to the expanding knowledge on the diversity of epiphytic bacteria in corn and alfalfa silage and provides a basis for the selection of raw materials.


Author(s):  
Maciej Chichlowski ◽  
Nicholas Bokulich ◽  
Cheryl L Harris ◽  
Jennifer L Wampler ◽  
Fei Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and lactoferrin (LF) are human milk bioactive components demonstrated to support gastrointestinal (GI) and immune development. Significantly fewer diarrhea and respiratory-associated adverse events through 18 months of age were previously reported in healthy term infants fed a cow's milk-based infant formula with added source of bovine MFGM and bovine LF through 12 months of age. Objectives To compare microbiota and metabolite profiles in a subset of study participants. Methods Stool samples were collected at Baseline (10–14 days of age) and Day 120 (MFGM + LF: 26, Control: 33). Bacterial community profiling was performed via16S rRNA gene sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) and alpha and beta diversity were analyzed (QIIME 2). Differentially abundant taxa were determined using Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSE) and visualized (Metacoder). Untargeted stool metabolites were analyzed (HPLC/mass spectroscopy) and expressed as the fold-change between group means (Control: MFGM + LF ratio). Results Alpha diversity increased significantly in both groups from baseline to 4 months. Subtle group differences in beta diversity were demonstrated at 4 months (Jaccard distance; R2 = 0.01, P = 0.042). Specifically, Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides plebeius were more abundant in the MFGM + LF group at 4 months. Metabolite profile differences for MFGM + LF vs Control included: lower fecal medium chain fatty acids, deoxycarnitine, and glycochenodeoxycholate, and some higher fecal carbohydrates and steroids (P < 0.05). After applying multiple test correction, the differences in stool metabolomics were not significant. Conclusions Addition of bovine MFGM and LF in infant formula was associated with subtle differences in stool microbiome and metabolome by four months of age, including increased prevalence of Bacteroides species. Stool metabolite profiles may be consistent with altered microbial metabolism. Trial registration:  https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02274883).


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 745
Author(s):  
Michelle Martin de Bustamante ◽  
Diego Gomez ◽  
Jennifer MacNicol ◽  
Ralph Hamor ◽  
Caryn Plummer

The objective of this study was to describe and compare the fecal bacterial microbiota of horses with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) and healthy horses using next-generation sequencing techniques. Fecal samples were collected from 15 client-owned horses previously diagnosed with ERU on complete ophthalmic examination. For each fecal sample obtained from a horse with ERU, a sample was collected from an environmentally matched healthy control with no evidence of ocular disease. The Illumina MiSeq sequencer was used for high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The relative abundance of predominant taxa, and alpha and beta diversity indices were calculated and compared between groups. The phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Proteobacteria predominated in both ERU and control horses, accounting for greater than 60% of sequences. Based on linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe), no taxa were found to be enriched in either group. No significant differences were observed in alpha and beta diversity indices between groups (p > 0.05 for all tests). Equine recurrent uveitis is not associated with alteration of the gastrointestinal bacterial microbiota when compared with healthy controls.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy P. Jenkins ◽  
David I. Pritchard ◽  
Radu Tanasescu ◽  
Gary Telford ◽  
Marina Papaiakovou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Helminth-associated changes in gut microbiota composition have been hypothesised to contribute to the immune-suppressive properties of parasitic worms. Multiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated autoimmune disease of the central nervous system whose pathophysiology has been linked to imbalances in gut microbial communities. Results In the present study, we investigated, for the first time, qualitative and quantitative changes in the faecal bacterial composition of human volunteers with remitting multiple sclerosis (RMS) prior to and following experimental infection with the human hookworm, Necator americanus (N+), and following anthelmintic treatment, and compared the findings with data obtained from a cohort of RMS patients subjected to placebo treatment (PBO). Bacterial 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing data revealed significantly decreased alpha diversity in the faecal microbiota of PBO compared to N+ subjects over the course of the trial; additionally, we observed significant differences in the abundances of several bacterial taxa with putative immune-modulatory functions between study cohorts. Parabacteroides were significantly expanded in the faecal microbiota of N+ individuals for which no clinical and/or radiological relapses were recorded at the end of the trial. Conclusions Overall, our data lend support to the hypothesis of a contributory role of parasite-associated alterations in gut microbial composition to the immune-modulatory properties of hookworm parasites.


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