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Comparative analysis of the gut microbiota of black bears in China using high-throughput sequencing

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Abstract

The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is a protected species from eastern Asia. In China, the Asiatic black bear occurs in 17 provinces from northeast to southwest regions. To date, information on microbial diversity in the gut of the Asiatic black bears from different populations remains limited. To determine the species composition and community structure of the gut microbiota in the Asiatic black bear, we characterized 36 fecal samples from Sichuan, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang provinces, China, by pyrosequencing the 16S V3–V4 hypervariable regions using the Illumina Miseq platform. Results showed that Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the predominant phyla in the samples, which were largely comprised Escherichia-Shigella, Peptostreptococcaceae_incertae_sedis, Turicibacter, Streptococcus, and Clostridium. By analyzing the community structure from these 36 samples, we found that there were significant differences in the species diversity and richness between Sichuan, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang populations. In conclusion, our results reveal the species composition and structure of the gut microbiota in captive black bears in China, and suggest that biogeography could affect the black bear’ gut microbiota.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    Can Song, Bochu Wang, Liancai Zhu, Deshuai Lou & Xiaoxi Cen

  2. School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, China

    Jun Tan

  3. Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shapingba Main Street, Chongqing, 400030, China

    Can Song, Bochu Wang, Jun Tan, Liancai Zhu, Deshuai Lou & Xiaoxi Cen

Authors
  1. Can Song
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  2. Bochu Wang
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  3. Jun Tan
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  4. Liancai Zhu
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  5. Deshuai Lou
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  6. Xiaoxi Cen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Bochu Wang or Jun Tan.

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Funding

This work was supported by National Science and Technology Major Projects for “Major New Drugs Innovation and Development” (2014ZX09301306-007), the Natural Science Foundation Project of CQ CSTC (cstc2015jcyjA10094), the Visiting Scholar Foundation of the Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), and the Ministry of Education (CQKLBST-2012-007).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Data availability

The raw 16S rRNA sequences supporting the results of this study are available in the GenBank Database under the accession No. SRX1244940.

Additional information

Communicated by S. Hohmann.

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Song, C., Wang, B., Tan, J. et al. Comparative analysis of the gut microbiota of black bears in China using high-throughput sequencing. Mol Genet Genomics 292, 407–414 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-016-1282-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-016-1282-0

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