Deciphering the Biogeographic Mapping of the Plateau Pika Microbiome

The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is one of the most distinctive small mammals on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and plays an important role in the ecosystem of the Plateau. There have been some studies of the microbiomes of specific sites in the plateau pika, but there have been fewer studies of biogeographic mapping of microbial communities at multiple sites. In order to investigate the differences in microbial community composition in different parts of the plateau pika, we captured plateau pikas from the Mengyuan region of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, collected samples from their faces, fur, livers, stomachs, small intestines, and cecum, and probed the bacterial communities in these parts of the pika using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results of the study revealed that the bacterial community composition varied greatly among different parts of the plateau pika. Relative abundance of Proteobacteria was highest in the face, liver, stomach and small intestine of plateau pikas, whereas Firmicutes was highest in the fur and cecum. The highest alpha diversity was found in the cecum and the lowest in the liver. Beta diversity analysis showed that the bacterial profiles of the face and fur of plateau pikas differed significantly from those in the digestive organs (liver, stomach, small intestine, and cecum), and that the bacterial profiles of the liver differed significantly from those of all five other sites. Network analysis showed that the complexity of bacterial networks on the face and fur of plateau pikas was higher than that of the digestive organs. Community assembly analyses revealed that bacterial community assembly in the face, fur, liver, and cecum was dominated by deterministic processes, whereas bacterial community assembly in the stomach and small intestine was dominated by stochastic processes. These results reveal biogeographic mapping differences between different parts of the plateau pika and identify characteristic microorganisms in different parts. This is important for elucidating the regional microbial ecological niche and mapping the complete biogeographic profile of the plateau pika microbiome.