Microbiome and Resistome of the European Bison (Bison bonasus)

After facing extinction in the early 20th century, populations of the two remnant genetic lines of European bison are now under continuous health monitoring. Faecal samples were taken from five Polish and one German herd of European bison over the course of several years. Through metagenomic sequencing, the bacterial and archaeal microbiome as well as the resistome of these samples could be characterized. Significant differences were mainly found between the bacterial microbiome of samples taken from droppings as opposed to rectal samples. Apart from this, the microbiome and resistome showed great homogeneity, uninfluenced by genetic line or location. Oscillospiraceae, Lachnospiraceae and Bacteroidaceae were the dominant bacterial families, the archaeome was mostly made up by Methanobacteriaceae. Genes from resistance classes like Aminoglycosides and MLS were present. This study characterises the microbiome and resistome of the European bison with the help of metagenomics, providing novel insights into its biology.