Cecal bacterial communities in wild Japanese rock ptarmigans and captive Svalbard rock ptarmigans

DOI Web Site Web Site PubMed 10 Citations 24 References Open Access
  • USHIDA Kazunari
    Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606–8522, Japan
  • SEGAWA Takahiro
    Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center, National Institute of Polar Research, 10–3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190–8518, Japan Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center, 4–3–13 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105–0001, Japan
  • TSUCHIDA Sayaka
    Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606–8522, Japan
  • MURATA Koichi
    College of Bioresource Science, Nihon University, Fujisawa 252–0880, Japan

Search this article

Description

Preservation of indigenous gastrointestinal microbiota is deemed to be critical for successful captive breeding of endangered wild animals, yet its biology is poorly understood. Here, we investigated cecal bacterial communities in wild Japanese rock ptarmigans (Lagopus muta japonica) and compared them with those in Svalbard rock ptarmigans (L. m. hyperborea) in captivity. Ultra-deep sequencing of 16S rRNA gene indicated that the community structure of cecal microbiota in wild rock ptarmigans was remarkably different from that in captive Svalbard rock ptarmigans. Fundamental differences between bacterial communities in the two groups of birds were detected at the phylum level. Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Synergistetes were the major phyla detected in wild Japanese rock ptarmigans, whereas Firmicutes alone occupied more than 80% of abundance in captive Svalbard rock ptarmigans. Furthermore, unclassified genera of Coriobacteriaceae, Synergistaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Actinomycetaceae, Veillonellaceae and Clostridiales were the major taxa detected in wild individuals, whereas in zoo-reared birds, major genera were Ruminococcus, Blautia, Faecalibacterium and Akkermansia. Zoo-reared birds seemed to lack almost all rock ptarmigan-specific bacteria in their intestine, which may explain the relatively high rate of pathogenic infections affecting them. We show evidence that preservation and reconstitution of indigenous cecal microflora are critical for successful ex situ conservation and future re-introduction plan for the Japanese rock ptarmigan.

Journal

Citations (10)*help

See more

References(24)*help

See more

Related Projects

See more

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top