Comparison of Gut Microbial Diversity between Wild and Laboratory Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae)

Gut microbiota play important roles in host physiological activity, immune regulation and health. However, it is not clear whether there are differences of gut microbiota between wild and laboratory plateau pikas. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology to compare the differences of gut microbial communities between wild and laboratory plateau pikas. Our results indicated that, compared with wild pikas, laboratory rearing pikas had higher aboundance of Bacteroidetes and Spirochaetes, while had lower abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. There were 13.7% overlaps of gut OTUs between wild and laboratory plateau pikas, while 86.3% of gut OTUs were specific in the wild and laboratory pikas. There were significant differences in composition and community structure (β diversity) of gut microbes, while there were no significant differences in α diversity of gut microbiota between wild and laboratory plateau pikas. In conclusion, gut bacterial community structure of plateau pika varied with diet, but species numbers of gut microbes was relatively stable. This study benefits to better understand how gut microbiota of plateau pika adapt to food resources.