Diet Drives Gut Bacterial Diversity of Wild and Semi-Captive Common Cranes (Grus grus).

Simple Summary: The fecal microbiome of common cranes (Grus grus) in Tianjin Tuanbo Bird Natural Reserve (wild group) and Beijing Wildlife Park (semi-captive group) in China were analyzed and compared in this study, and the results showed that Firmicutes and Proteobacteria are the dominant phyla. The Sobs and Chao1 indexes revealed that the richness of gut microbiota in the semi-captive group was higher than in the wild group. Among the analysis of the relationship between plants and intestinal bacteria, Zea mays, Glycine max, and Phragmites australia had a significant correlation with the intestinal bacteria of G. grus. Beta diversity data highlighted the significant differences between the two groups and that the gut microbial taxa of the G. grus were associated with the main functions to adapt the dietary compositions. Taken together, these data will help us evaluate the influence of diet on animal microbiomes and improve our ability to enhance the conservation of this species. The gut microbiota of wild animals can regulate host physical health to adapt to the environment. High-throughput sequencing from fecal samples was used to analyze the gut microbiota communities in common cranes (Grus grus) without harming them. Herein, we compared the fecal microbiome of fifteen G. grus in Tianjin Tuanbo Bird Natural Reserve (wild group) and six G. grus sampled from Beijing Wildlife Park (semi-captive group) in China, using 16S amplicon sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. The results showed that microbiota diversity and composition varied in different groups, suggesting that the gut microbiota was interactively influenced by diet and the environment. A total of 38 phyla and 776 genera were analyzed in this study. The dominant phyla of the G. grus were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Meanwhile, the microbiota richness of the semi-captive group was higher than the wild group. Data on beta diversity highlighted significant differences based on different dietary compositions. Zea mays, Glycine max, and Phragmites australia showed a significant correlation with intestinal bacteria of G. grus. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of diet and microbiomes in semi-captive and wild G. grus living in different environments, thus helping us to evaluate the influence on animal microbiomes and improve conservation efforts for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]