Comparative study of faecal microorganisms in Kazakh horses with normal and abnormal follicular development

Zhang Jianguang; Zhou Jun; Zhu Jianping

doi:10.20154/j.cnki.issn1672-9692.2025.01.006

Abstract：The aim of the experiment was to investigate the differences in fecal microbes between normal and abnormal follicular development in Kazakh horses.During the experiment period,all mares were under unified feeding and management conditions and breeding conditions.After successful breeding,the follicle development was detected by B-ultrasound.10 mares with normal follicle development and 10 mares with abnormal follicle development were selected,namely,normal group(zc group)and abnormal group(yc group).Fecal samples from test mares were collected for microbial detection using high-throughput sequencing technology.The results showed that there were 31 849 operating taxa(OTU)in faecal flora of Kazakh horses in yc group and zc group,and the number of OTU in faecal flora of Kazakh horses in the zc group was higher than that in the yc group.The dominant bacteria in the faeces of the two groups of Kazakh horses were Firmicutes,Bacteroidota,Proteobacteria,Verrucomicrobiota,and Spirochaetota,etc.The dominant bacteria families were Planococcaceae,Moraxellaceae,Rikenellaceae,F082,and Lachnospiraceae,etc.The dominant bacteria genera were Acinetobacter,Solibacillus,Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group,Treponema,and Methanocorpusculum.There was no significant difference in the α diversity index of fecal flora between the two groups(P>0.05).There were 11 species of bacteria in faecal flora of Kazakh horses between the two groups,among which eight species of bacteria in the yc group and three species of bacteria in the zc group were significantly up-regulated.The prediction results of PICRUSt community function showed that the relative abundance of 26 metabolic pathways,including amino acid metabolism,carbohydrate metabolism,lipid metabolism and energy metabolism,in the zc group was higher than that in the yc group(P>0.05).The results showed that follicular development could affect the composition and community of fecal flora of Kazakh horses,but the diversity and richness of intestinal flora did not change significantly,and the relative abundance of Kazakh horses in the zc group was higher than that in the yc group in several metabolic pathways.