Microbial diversity in the digestive tract of two different breeds of sheep.

Douglas, J.-L.; Worgan, H.J.; Easton, G.L.; Poret, L.; Wolf, B.T.; Edwards, A.; Davies, E.; Ross, D.; McEwan, N.R.

Abstract

Aims: This work aims to determine the factors which play a role in establishing the microbial population throughout the digestive tract in ruminants and is necessary to enhance our understanding of microbial establishment and activity. Methods and Results: This study used Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP) to investigate the microbial profiles of 11 regions of the digestive tract of two breeds of sheep (Beulah and Suffolk). TRFLP data revealed that the regions of the digestive tract were highly significantly different in terms of the composition of the bacterial communities within three distinct clusters of bacterial colonisation (foregut, midgut and hindgut). The data also show that breed was a significant factor in the establishment of the bacterial component of the microbial community, but that no difference was detected between ciliated protozoal populations. Conclusions: We infer that not only are the different regions of the tract important in determining the composition of the microbial communities in the sheep, but so too is the breed of the animal. Significance and Impact of Study: This is the first time that a difference has been detected in the digestive microbial population of two different breeds of sheep.

Citation

DOUGLAS, J.-L., WORGAN, H.J., EASTON, G.L., PORET, L., WOLF, B.T., EDWARDS, A., DAVIES, E., ROSS, D. and MCEWAN, N.R. 2016. Microbial diversity in the digestive tract of two different breeds of sheep. Journal of applied microbiology [online], 120(5), pages 1382-1389. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.13060

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 11, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 19, 2016
• Publication Date: May 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 20, 2017
• Journal: Journal of applied microbiology
• Print ISSN: 1364-5072
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2672
• Publisher: Wiley Open Access
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 120
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1382-1389
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.13060
• Keywords: Sheep; Microbes; Diversity; Digestive tract; TRFLP
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/3052