Dataset Information

Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) and Other Herbivorous Livestock in Ghana.

ABSTRACT: The grasscutter (also known as the greater cane rat; Thryonomys swinderianus) is a large rodent native to West Africa that is currently under domestication process for meat production. However, little is known about the physiology of this species. In the present study, aiming to provide information about gut microbiota of the grasscutter and better understand its physiology, we investigated the intestinal microbiota of grasscutters and compared it with that of other livestock (cattle, goat, rabbit, and sheep) using 16S rRNA metagenomics analysis. Similar to the other herbivorous animals, bacteria classified as Bacteroidales, Clostridiales, Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae were abundant in the microbiome of grasscutters. However, Prevotella and Treponema bacteria, which have fiber fermentation ability, were especially abundant in grasscutters, where the relative abundance of these genera was higher than that in the other animals. The presence of these genera might confer grasscutters the ability to easily breakdown dietary fibers. Diets for grasscutters should be made from ingredients not consumed by humans to avoid competition for resources and the ability to digest fibers may allow the use of fiber-rich feed materials not used by humans. Our findings serve as reference and support future studies on changes in the gut microbiota of the grasscutter as domestication progresses in order to establish appropriate feeding methods and captivity conditions.

SUBMITTER: Kawasaki K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7074823 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Grasscutter (<i>Thryonomys swinderianus</i>) and Other Herbivorous Livestock in Ghana.

Kawasaki Kiyonori K Ohya Kenji K Omatsu Tsutomu T Katayama Yukie Y Takashima Yasuhiro Y Kinoshita Tsuyoshi T Odoi Justice Opare JO Sawai Kotaro K Fukushi Hideto H Ogawa Hirohito H Inoue-Murayama Miho M Mizutani Tetsuya T Adenyo Christopher C Matsumoto Yoshiki Y Kayang Boniface B

Microorganisms 20200215 2

The grasscutter (also known as the greater cane rat; <i>Thryonomys swinderianus</i>) is a large rodent native to West Africa that is currently under domestication process for meat production. However, little is known about the physiology of this species. In the present study, aiming to provide information about gut microbiota of the grasscutter and better understand its physiology, we investigated the intestinal microbiota of grasscutters and compared it with that of other livestock (cattle, goa ...[more]

PMID: 32075341

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Project description:Diarrhea poses a significant threat to the health and well-being of weaned piglets, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality and economic loss in the pig industry. However, the structural characteristics of the gut microbiota and the key genera associated with early diarrhea in piglets within large-scale production systems are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the differences in the microbial community structure and the specific genera alteration between the healthy piglets and diarrhea piglets, and to identify the biomarkers of gut microbiota associated with diarrhea in piglets. A total of 250 fecal samples, including 130 healthy piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Large Yorkshire) in the Control group and 120 from diarrhea piglets in Diarrhea group, were collected from three large-scale farms as discovery cohorts and were used for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additionally, 150 fecal samples from another large-scale pig farm were collected for the validation trail. The Chao1 and ACE indices were obviously lower (P < 0.01) in the diarrhea piglets compared to the healthy ones. Principal coordinate analysis showed significant differences in the distance matrix of gut microbiota between the healthy and diarrhea piglets (Bray-Curtis: P = 0.001, Jaccard: P = 0.001). Eighty-five genera were differentially enriched (P < 0.001) between healthy and diarrhea piglets. Notably, Treponema, Sphaerochaeta, Escherichia-Shigella, Slackia, and Staphylococcus were identified as potential biomarkers of diarrhea susceptibility; Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Prevotella_9, Olsenella, Dorea, and Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group were found to be beneficial for maintaining intestinal homeostasis. These differentially enriched genera of healthy and diarrhea piglets were further confirmed in the validation cohort. In conclusion, this study identified the diarrhea-associated and beneficial genera in the faces of piglet, providing a theoretical basis for the diagnosis and intervention of diarrhea in weaned piglets.

Dataset Information

Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) and Other Herbivorous Livestock in Ghana.

Publications

Comparative Analysis of Fecal Microbiota in Grasscutter (<i>Thryonomys swinderianus</i>) and Other Herbivorous Livestock in Ghana.

Similar Datasets

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