Comparative Study of Gut Microbiota in Wild and Captive Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).

ABSTRACT: Captive breeding has been used as an effective approach to protecting endangered animals but its effect on the gut microbiome and the conservation status of these species is largely unknown. The giant panda is a flagship species for the conservation of wildlife. With integrated efforts including captive breeding, this species has been recently upgraded from "endangered" to "vulnerable" (IUCN 2016). Since a large proportion (21.8%) of their global population is still captive, it is critical to understand how captivity changes the gut microbiome of these pandas and how such alterations to the microbiome might affect their future fitness and potential impact on the ecosystem after release into the wild. Here, we use 16S rRNA (ribosomal RNA) marker gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomics sequ

SUBMITTER: Guo W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6826394 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature