Abstract
Rhinoceros unicornis, also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros (GoHR), is a vulnerable wildlife species found in the Indian subcontinent with an estimated global population of 3582, of which an estimated 2995 resides in India. The Kaziranga National Park of Assam is the home to ~80.56% of the GoH population in India. Recent advances in genetics and microbial studies underscored the importance of gut microbial symbiosis as a crucial factor for host metabolic health and environmental interaction, particularly for higher mammals. Alteration of the normal microbiome can also be an indicator of chronic disease and infection. Freshly voided dung samples from nine dung heaps of free ranging or wild GoH rhinoceros were collected from Kaziranga National Park for mapping the gut microbial architecture through 16S-metagenomic approach. In our sample, the GoH gut harbours 168.8±12.55 (SE) bacteria-specific OTUs belonging to 21 phyla of which the gram-negative Proteobacteria is the most abundant phyla. Other abundant phylas found in the GoH gut are Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Although the GoH rhinoceros gut can utilize fibrous plant by microbial fermentation, the aerobic, nonfermenting Acinetobacter (20.7%), Stenotrophomonas (17.8%) and Brevundimonas (9.1%) constitute about 50% of all identified genus. Functional prediction of the GoH microbiome reveals that >50% of the bacteria present are involved in metabolism followed by cellular processes and information processing. A significant proportion (>1%) are associated with different diseases. In summary, our study characterized bacterial communities of nine wild GoH to identify some unique features and its implication in disease and survival of GoH.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam for allowing us to initiate the study. We are thankful for the help and needful support provided by the Field Director, Kaziranga National Park, Divisional Forest Officer, East Assam Wildlife Division, Range Forest Officers and the forest guards for providing necessary assistance for carrying out this study and collect necessary samples. The authors sincerely acknowledge Mrs Soumita Dutta for laboratory assistance. We would like to thank Sri Ravi Singh, SG & CEO WWF India for his constant motivation and support to undertake challenging works. We thank the team members of WWF India especially Dr Dipankar Ghose and Dr Anupam Sarmah for their help and support during the study. This study was possible because of the support of our donors, especially WWF-US. The study was funded by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) US grant number PRO-927.
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PK, SKP and AB were involved in the study design and data generation, and analysis. DP, AS and PK conducted the field work and sampling. NNB facilitated sample processing and coordinating between the two laboratories of College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara and Regional Medical Research Centre. CKB and CB were involved in data generation and analysis. All authors were actively involved in manuscript preparation.
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Corresponding editor: T. N. C. Vidya
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Kakati, P., Paine, S.K., Bhattacharjee, C.K. et al. Gut microbiome architecture of wild greater one-horned rhinoceros: a vulnerable species from Kaziranga National Park, India. J Genet 100, 84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-021-01326-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-021-01326-x