Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts
In recent decades, wild sable (Carnivora Mustelidae <i>Martes zibellina</i>) habitats, which are often natural forests, have been squeezed by anthropogenic disturbances such as clear-cutting, tilling and grazing. Sables tend to live in sloped areas with relatively harsh conditions. Here,...
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/3/865 |
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| author | Lantian Su Xinxin Liu Guangyao Jin Yue Ma Haoxin Tan Muhammed Khalid Martin Romantschuk Shan Yin Nan Hui |
| author_facet | Lantian Su Xinxin Liu Guangyao Jin Yue Ma Haoxin Tan Muhammed Khalid Martin Romantschuk Shan Yin Nan Hui |
| author_sort | Lantian Su |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, wild sable (Carnivora Mustelidae <i>Martes zibellina</i>) habitats, which are often natural forests, have been squeezed by anthropogenic disturbances such as clear-cutting, tilling and grazing. Sables tend to live in sloped areas with relatively harsh conditions. Here, we determine effects of environmental factors on wild sable gut microbial communities between high and low altitude habitats using Illumina Miseq sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Our results showed that despite wild sable gut microbial community diversity being resilient to many environmental factors, community composition was sensitive to altitude. Wild sable gut microbial communities were dominated by Firmicutes (relative abundance 38.23%), followed by Actinobacteria (30.29%), and Proteobacteria (28.15%). Altitude was negatively correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes, suggesting sable likely consume more vegetarian food in lower habitats where plant diversity, temperature and vegetation coverage were greater. In addition, our functional genes prediction and qPCR results demonstrated that energy/fat processing microorganisms and functional genes are enriched with increasing altitude, which likely enhanced metabolic functions and supported wild sables to survive in elevated habitats. Overall, our results improve the knowledge of the ecological impact of habitat change, providing insights into wild animal protection at the mountain area with hash climate conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:08:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d1d6bc11d37a4d909422de38b0b90374 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:08:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-d1d6bc11d37a4d909422de38b0b903742023-11-21T11:00:22ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-03-0111386510.3390/ani11030865Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) GutsLantian Su0Xinxin Liu1Guangyao Jin2Yue Ma3Haoxin Tan4Muhammed Khalid5Martin Romantschuk6Shan Yin7Nan Hui8School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, ChinaInstrumental Analysis Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, ChinaInstitute of Wild Animals, Heilongjiang Academy of Forestry, Haping Road 134, Harbin 150081, ChinaCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Hexing Road 26, Harbin 150040, ChinaSchool of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, ChinaSchool of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, ChinaFaculty of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140 Lahti, FinlandSchool of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai 200240, ChinaFaculty of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140 Lahti, FinlandIn recent decades, wild sable (Carnivora Mustelidae <i>Martes zibellina</i>) habitats, which are often natural forests, have been squeezed by anthropogenic disturbances such as clear-cutting, tilling and grazing. Sables tend to live in sloped areas with relatively harsh conditions. Here, we determine effects of environmental factors on wild sable gut microbial communities between high and low altitude habitats using Illumina Miseq sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Our results showed that despite wild sable gut microbial community diversity being resilient to many environmental factors, community composition was sensitive to altitude. Wild sable gut microbial communities were dominated by Firmicutes (relative abundance 38.23%), followed by Actinobacteria (30.29%), and Proteobacteria (28.15%). Altitude was negatively correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes, suggesting sable likely consume more vegetarian food in lower habitats where plant diversity, temperature and vegetation coverage were greater. In addition, our functional genes prediction and qPCR results demonstrated that energy/fat processing microorganisms and functional genes are enriched with increasing altitude, which likely enhanced metabolic functions and supported wild sables to survive in elevated habitats. Overall, our results improve the knowledge of the ecological impact of habitat change, providing insights into wild animal protection at the mountain area with hash climate conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/3/865<i>Martes zibellina</i>gut microbial community16S rRNA genehabitat environmentaltitude changes |
| spellingShingle | Lantian Su Xinxin Liu Guangyao Jin Yue Ma Haoxin Tan Muhammed Khalid Martin Romantschuk Shan Yin Nan Hui Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts Animals <i>Martes zibellina</i> gut microbial community 16S rRNA gene habitat environment altitude changes |
| title | Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts |
| title_full | Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts |
| title_fullStr | Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts |
| title_short | Habitat Elevation Shapes Microbial Community Composition and Alter the Metabolic Functions in Wild Sable (<i>Martes zibellina</i>) Guts |
| title_sort | habitat elevation shapes microbial community composition and alter the metabolic functions in wild sable i martes zibellina i guts |
| topic | <i>Martes zibellina</i> gut microbial community 16S rRNA gene habitat environment altitude changes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/3/865 |
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