Gut microbiota and fecal metabolites in captive and wild North China leopard ( Panthera pardus japonensis ) by comparsio
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Gut microbiota and fecal metabolites in captive and wild North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) by comparsion using 16 s rRNA gene sequencing and LC/ MS-based metabolomics Yan Hua1,2†, Heqin Cao1†, Jiao Wang2, Fengping He3 and Guangshun Jiang1*
Abstract Background: Gut microbes significantly contribute to nutrient digestion and absorption, intestinal health and immunity, and are essential for the survival and environmental adaptation of wild animals. However, there are few studies on the gut microbiota of captive and wild North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis). Results: A total of 10 mainly bacterial phyla were identified in the fecal microbiota of North China leopard, Lachnoclostridium (p = 0.003), Peptoclostridium (p = 0.005), Bacteroides (p = 0.008), Fusobacterium (p = 0.017) and Collinsella (p = 0.019) were significantly higher than those of wild North China leopard. Distinct differences in the fecal metabolic phenotypes of captive and wild North China leopard were found, such as content of l-methionine, n-acetyl-l-tyrosine, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid. Differentially abundant gut microbes were associated with fecal metabolites, especially the bacteria in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, involved in the metabolism of N-acetyl-Lalanine and D-quinovose. Conclusion: This study reports for the first time the differences in gut microbiota abundance between captive and wild North China leopard, as well as significant differences in fecal metabolic phenotypes between two groups. Keywords: Fecal metabolites, gut microbiota, North China leopard, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metabolomics
Background The North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), also called the China leopard, is one of the three native leopard subspecies distributed in China. The North China leopard is only found in the eastern and central parts of China [1]. Due to habitat fragmentation, largescale forest reduction and poor habitat connectivity, the * Correspondence: [email protected] † Yan Hua and Heqin Cao contributed equally to this work. 1 Feline Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Natural Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
distribution range and population size of the North China leopard have sharply decreased [2–4], and it has been listed as a national class I key protected animal. It has also been listed as endangered (EN) by the Red List of Biodiversity in China-Vertebrate Volume. China's Red Book of Endangered Animals classified it as Endangered (E); it was upgraded from Vulnerable (VU) in 2008 to Near Threatened (NT) by the IUCN, and has been listed in Appendix I by CITES. Fortunately, with the strengthening of protection, the North China leopard population shows stable and an increasing trend. However, due to its limited habitat areas
© The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
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