Anaerobic fungal communities differ along the horse digestive tract.
Abstract: Anaerobic fungi are potent fibre degrading microbes in the equine hindgut, yet our understanding of their diversity and community structure is limited to date. In this preliminary work, using a clone library approach we studied the diversity of anaerobic fungi along six segments of the horse hindgut: caecum, right ventral colon (RVC), left ventral colon (LVC), left dorsal colon (LDC), right dorsal colon (RDC) and rectum. Of the 647 ITS1 clones, 61.7 % were assigned to genus level groups that are so far without any cultured representatives, and 38.0 % were assigned to the cultivated genera Neocallimastix (35.1 %), Orpinomyces (2.3 %), and Anaeromyces (0.6 %). AL1 dominated the group of uncultured anaerobic fungi, particularly in the RVC (88 %) and LDC (97 %). Sequences from the LSU clone library analysis of the LDC, however, split into two distinct phylogenetic clusters with low sequence identity to Caecomyces sp. (94-96 %) and Liebetanzomyces sp. (92 %) respectively. Sequences belonging to cultured Neocallimastix spp. dominated in LVC (81 %) and rectum (75.5 %). Quantification of anaerobic fungi showed significantly higher concentrations in RVC and RDC compared to other segments, which influenced the interpretation of the changes in anaerobic fungal diversity along the horse hindgut. These preliminary findings require further investigation.
Copyright © 2019 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2018-12-27 PubMed ID: 30798879DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2018.12.004Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
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Summary
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The research investigates the difference in diversity and community structure of anaerobic fungi along six segments of the horse’s digestive tract. It has discovered most of the fungi are uncultured, and also identified particular dominant types of fungi in different sections of the gut.
Objectives of the Research
- The study aimed to understand the diversity and community structure of anaerobic fungi in the digestive tract of horses.
- It sought to study these fungi in six areas of the horse’s hindgut: caecum, right ventral colon (RVC), left ventral colon (LVC), left dorsal colon (LDC), right dorsal colon (RDC) and rectum.
Methods Used in the Research
- The researchers used a clone library approach to study the fungi.
- This involved creating a clone of the fungal DNA for each segment of the gut and analysing the sequences present.
Results of the Research
- Of the 647 ITS1 clones (a type of DNA sequence used to identify different species), 61.7% belonged to groups of fungi that are not currently represented in cultivated fungal collections.
- A further 38% belonged to species of the genera Neocallimastix, Orpinomyces, and Anaeromyces, which have been cultivated in a laboratory setting.
- The group of uncultured fungi was dominated by type AL1, especially in the RVC and the LDC sections of the gut.
- Further sequences in the LDC split into two separate phylogenetic clusters, indicating potential new species related to Caecomyces and Liebetanzomyces.
- Meanwhile, fungi of Neocallimastix spp. dominated in LVC and rectum.
- The concentration of anaerobic fungi was significantly greater in the RVC and RDC compared to other gut sections.
Conclusions of the Research
- The data gathered provides a deeper understanding of the types of fungi present in horses’ gut, their locations, and their community structure.
- There is still a large amount of uncultured fungi, and new potential species discovered. This suggests further research will be required to fully understand the role and function of these organisms in horses’ digestive systems.
Cite This Article
APA
Mura E, Edwards J, Kittelmann S, Kaerger K, Voigt K, Mrázek J, Moniello G, Fliegerova K.
(2018).
Anaerobic fungal communities differ along the horse digestive tract.
Fungal Biol, 123(3), 240-246.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2018.12.004 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708 WE, the Netherlands.
- Wilmar International Ltd., Wil@NUS Corporate Lab, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
- Institute of Microbiology, University of Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743 Jena, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Jena Microbial Resource Collection, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 23, 07745 Jena, Germany.
- Institute of Microbiology, University of Jena, Neugasse 25, 07743 Jena, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Jena Microbial Resource Collection, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 23, 07745 Jena, Germany.
- Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, CAS, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 14220, Czech Republic.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
- Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, CAS, Vídeňská 1083, Prague 14220, Czech Republic. Electronic address: fliegerova@iapg.cas.cz.
MeSH Terms
- Anaerobiosis
- Animals
- Cecum / microbiology
- Cluster Analysis
- Colon / microbiology
- DNA, Fungal / chemistry
- DNA, Fungal / genetics
- DNA, Ribosomal / chemistry
- DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
- DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / chemistry
- DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / genetics
- Fungi / classification
- Fungi / genetics
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome
- Horses / microbiology
- Mycobiome
- Phylogeny
- RNA, Ribosomal / genetics
- Rectum / microbiology
- Sequence Analysis, DNA
Citations
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