Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (10): 3490-3499.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.10.021

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Diversity of Gut Microbiota of Kazakh Horses under Different Feeding Modes in Winter

GAO Xueli1, LI Mengmeng1, Jiaerheng·BIEJIANHAN2, QI·Aladaer1*   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China;
    2. Altay area Buerjin County Hemuhanasi Mongolian Nationality Township Agriculture (Animal Husbandry) Development Service Center, Altay 836500, China
  • Received:2021-12-16 Online:2022-10-23 Published:2022-10-26

Abstract: There are few reports on the effects of different feeding modes on the intestinal flora of Kazakh horses. This study compared the composition and biomarker of the fecal flora of Kazakh horses under free grazing and captive rearing, thus to reveal the fluctuation of the intestinal flora of Kazakh horses under different feeding modes. Fresh feces were collected from 5 Kazakh horses under free grazing and 5 Kazakh horses in captivity. The composition and functional pathways of the intestinal flora of Kazakh horses were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the diversity of intestinal flora in the grazing group was significantly higher than that in the captive group (Shannon index, P<0.05; Simpson index, P<0.01); The biomarker species of the grazing group were significantly more than that of the captive group. At the phylum level, the abundance of Firmicutes (76.10%; 78.08%) and Bacteroidetes (17.16%; 15.72%) in grazing group and captive group was higher, which accounting for more than 93% of the total flora. At the family level, cellulose decomposing/fermenting bacteria (Ruminococcaceae, 30.44%; Lachnospiraceae, 21.96%;[Mogibacteriaceae], 4.86%) were dominant in the grazing group. While the cellulose decomposition/fermentation bacteria Ruminococcaceae (28.73%) and Lachnospiraceae (14.51%), as well as the starchcarbohydrates digesting bacteria Streptococcaceae (15.08%) were dominant in the captive group. In addition, the abundance of Streptococcaceae significantly higher than that of the grazing group (P<0.05). Annotation for the functional gene sequences showed that, 77.44% of the sequences were annotated as "metabolism". The results indicated that, the colony diversity of the free grazing group was higher than that of the captive group, and the digestion type of flora was more unified. There were overall differences in the composition of the intestinal flora between the two groups, which laid a theoretical foundation for the further study of the intestinal flora of Kazakh horses.

Key words: Kazakh horse, gut microbiota, feeding mode, diversity

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