Abstract:

The gut microbiota is closely related to the host’s behavior, health, and development, and is influenced by a variety of factors such as season, diet, and environment. To explore the differences in the gut microbiota of Sorex caecutiens in different seasons, we collected samples from 33 S. caecutiens individuals in summer, autumn, and winter (Divided into summer group, autumn group, and winter group), and performed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene on their gut contents. After species annotation of the sequencing results, the species composition, α-diversity, β-diversity, inter-group differences, and functions of the gut microbiota were analyzed. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the Simpson and Chao1 indices of the gut microbiota of S. caecutiens in the three seasons, while the Shannon index of the winter group was significantly higher than that of the other two seasons (P < 0.05). Theβ-diversity analysis results indicated that there were differences in the gut microbiota structure of S. caecutiens in the three seasons (P < 0.01). At the phylum level, the dominant phylum in summer and autumn were Firmicutes (52.39%, 53.21%) and Campylobacterota (23.42%, 21.41%), while in winter, the dominant phylum were Proteobacteria (41.15%) and Campylobacterota (29.27%). At the genus level, the dominant genus in summer and autumn were Mycoplasma (23.42%, 41.22%) and Helicobacter (21.94%, 21.41%), while in winter, the dominant genus was Helicobacter (29.27%). LEfSe analysis revealed that Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobiota, and Desulfobacterota were enriched in autumn, while Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Bacteroidota were enriched in winter. The functional analysis results showed that metabolism was the dominant function in all three groups (relative abundance > 75%), and the functional abundance of genetic information processing in the gut microbiota of S. caecutiens in autumn was significantly higher than that in the other two seasons (P < 0.05). Through the analysis of the gut microbiota in the three seasons, we gained a preliminary understanding of the composition and function of the gut microbiota of S. caecutiens, which changes with the seasons to adapt to the different feeding habits.

Key words: Sorex caecutiens, Gut microbiota, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, High-throughput sequencing

摘要：

肠道菌群与宿主的行为、健康和发育密切相关，其受到季节、食物组成及环境等多种因素的影响。为探究不同季节同域中鼩鼱（Sorex caecutiens）的肠道菌群差异，本研究采集了夏、秋、冬3个季节的33号中鼩鼱样本（分为夏季组、秋季组和冬季组），对其肠道内容物进行16S rRNA基因高通量测序，对测序结果物种注释后，分析肠道菌群的物种组成、α多样性、β多样性、组间差异和功能。结果显示，3组中鼩鼱肠道菌群的Simpson和Chao1指数无显著差异，冬季组的Shannon指数显著高于其他2组（P < 0.05）。β多样性分析结果显示，3组中鼩鼱肠道菌群的结构存在差异（P < 0.01）。在门水平上，夏季和秋季组的优势菌门为厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）（分别为52.39%和53.21%）和弯曲菌门（Campylobacterota）（分别为23.42%和21.41%），冬季组的优势菌门为变形菌门（Proteobacteria）（41.15%）和弯曲菌门（29.27%）。属水平上，中鼩鼱夏季和秋季组的优势菌属为支原体属（Mycoplasma）（分别为23.42%和41.22%）和螺杆菌属（Helicobacter）（分别为21.94%和21.41%）。冬季组的优势菌属为螺杆菌属（29.27%）。LEfSe分析发现，厚壁菌门、疣微菌门（Verrucomicrobiota）和脱硫菌门（Desulfobacterota）在秋季大量富集，变形菌门、放线菌门（Actinobacteriota）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidota）在冬季大量富集。功能分析结果显示，肠道菌群中代谢相关通路在3组占绝对优势（相对丰度 > 75%），秋季组肠道菌群中遗传信息处理通路丰度显著高于其他2组（P < 0.05）。通过对3个季节中鼩鼱肠道菌群的分析，初步了解了中鼩鼱肠道菌群的组成及功能，及其随季节发生变化以适应食物的规律。

关键词: 中鼩鼱, 肠道微生物, 16S rRNA基因测序, 高通量测序