Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (7): 2932-2941.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.07.024

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evaluation of the Viral Community Composition in Goat Rumen Fluid, Based on Metagenomic Analysis

WU Yicheng1,2, RAN Tao3,4*, ZHOU Chuanshe1,2*, TAN Zhiliang1,2   

  1. 1. South Central Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in the Ministry of Agriculture, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and Metabolic Process, National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    3. College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China;
    4. State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
  • Received:2022-08-30 Online:2023-07-23 Published:2023-07-21

Abstract: Viruses, mainly bacteriophage, are significant components of the ruminal microbiota in ruminants. All the ruminal viruses are called ruminal virome, and could be studied by metagenomics. Understanding the components and functions of goat ruminal viruses is expected to provide a more comprehensive understanding of rumen microecology. Accurate profiling of complex rumen virome requires DNA extraction methods that provide adequate quality and quantity, as well as sufficient coverage of the original community. In this study, four procedures to extract viruses-like particles (VLPs) from rumen fluid were compared:(P1) centrifugation + dilution, (P2) centrifugation + dilution + filtration, (P3) centrifugation + dilution + filtration + polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, (P4) centrifugation + dilution + filtration + PEG precipitation + chloroform treatment. The nucleic acid in four procedures was extracted and DNA concentration, purity and integrity were compared. Then genomic DNA sequencing was performed using Illumina Novaseq 6000 and virus population structure was analyzed. The results showed that there were positive effects of filtration and PEG precipitation on viral nucleic acid quality. The chloroform treatment, severely reducing virus-like particles (VLPs) yield, should be used with caution when performing high-throughput sequencing. The viral communities in the rumen were dominated by bacteriophages belonging to the viral order Caudovirales (i.e., Myoviridae, Podoviridae, and Siphoviridae). The results provide the basis for future investigations regarding the ecological importance of viruses in rumen microbial ecosystems.

Key words: rumen virus, viral metagenomics, high-throughput sequencing technology, DNA extraction, diversity

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