Open AccessTracking Bacteria through the Entire Gastrointestinal Tract of a Beef Steer
Author(s) -
Durso Lisa M.,
Miller Daniel N.,
Schmidt Ty B.,
Callaway Todd
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
agricultural and environmental letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2471-9625
DOI - 10.2134/ael2017.05.0016
Subject(s) - biology , firmicutes , bacteroidetes , clostridia , ileum , feces , jejunum , bacteria , unifrac , proteobacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , small intestine , large intestine , abomasum , rumen , zoology , food science , 16s ribosomal rna , biochemistry , genetics , fermentation
Core Ideas 50–80% of operational taxonomic units can be attributed to the GIT's upstream compartment. Rumen and feces are dominated by firmicutes, 70% of which are in both compartments. Abomasum, small‐, and large‐intestine samples each had distinct taxonomic composition. Ingesta had more proteobacteria and bacteroidetes; tissue had more clostridia. One‐third of the OTUs in the pre‐gastric samples were also found in the rectum.Biological processes within beef cattle gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) influence animal health, and the output (feces) is an important vector for zoonotic pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Historically, outside of the rumen, little attention was paid to the bacteria along the GIT, despite their essential role in catabolizing feed into feces. Here we characterize bacteria from 15 GIT sites within a beef steer and examine the proportion of bacteria contributed by upstream compartments. This animal displayed characteristic differences between tissue and digesta communities in gastric and large‐intestine, but not small‐intestine, samples. The GIT sites shared between 50 and 80% of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with their neighboring upstream compartment, with the exception of the ileum. The ileum shared only 11% with the jejunum but displayed a similar phylum‐level taxonomic distribution with the jejunum. It is unclear whether the observed changes between compartments represent a nonrandom decrease in bacterial number or rapid multiplication of certain taxa.