Diversity and community structure of anaerobic gut fungi in the rumen of wild and domesticated herbivores

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Feb 1:e0149223. doi: 10.1128/aem.01492-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe rumen houses a diverse community that plays a major role in the digestion process in ruminants. Anaerobic gut fungi (AGF) are key contributors to plant digestion in the rumen. Here, we present a global amplicon-based survey of the rumen AGF mycobiome by examining 206 samples from 15 animal species, 15 countries, and 6 continents. The rumen AGF mycobiome was highly diverse, with 81 out of 88 currently recognized AGF genera or candidate genera identified. However, only six genera (Neocallimastix, Orpinomyces, Caecomyces, Cyllamyces, NY9, and Piromyces) were present at >4% relative abundance. AGF diversity was higher in members of the families Antilocapridae and Cervidae compared to Bovidae. Community structure analysis identified a pattern of phylosymbiosis, where host family (10% of total variance) and species (13.5%) partially explained the rumen mycobiome composition. As well, diet composition (9%-19%), domestication (11.14%), and biogeography (14.1%) also partially explained AGF community structure; although sampling limitation, geographic range restrictions, and direct association between different factors hindered accurate elucidation of the relative contribution of each factor. Pairwise comparison of rumen and fecal samples obtained from the same subject (n = 13) demonstrated greater diversity and inter-sample variability in rumen versus fecal samples. The genera ...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research