Seasonal Variation in the Faecal Microbiota of Mature Adult Horses Maintained on Pasture in New Zealand.

ABSTRACT: Seasonal variation in the faecal microbiota of forage-fed horses was investigated over a 12-month period to determine whether the bacterial diversity fluctuated over time. Horses (n = 10) were maintained on pasture for one year, with hay supplemented from June to October. At monthly intervals, data were recorded on pasture availability and climate (collected continuously and averaged on monthly basis), pasture and hay samples were collected for nutrient analysis, and faecal samples were collected from all horses to investigate the diversity of faecal microbiota using next-generation sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. The alpha diversity of bacterial genera was high in all samples (n = 118), with significantly higher Simpson's (p < 0.001) and Shannon-Wiener (

SUBMITTER: Fernandes KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8388417 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature