The composition of rumen protozoa in the two groups.

<p>OLH = High group, OLL = Low group.</p

Relationships between microbial populations and fermentation products in the rumen of sika deer fed tannin rich plants.

<p>(A) Correlation between microbial populations and fermentation products. Strong correlations are indicated by large circles, whereas weak correlations are indicated by small circles. The colors of the scale bar denote the nature of the correlation with 1 indicating perfect positive correlation (dark blue) and -1 indicating the negative correlation (dark red). (B) Co-occurrence network analysis among microbial populations and fermentation products. Bright blue circle nodes represent microbial populations at genus level, and rounded rectangle nodes represent fermentation products. Each co-occurring pair among microbial populations at genus level and fermentation products has an absolute Spearman rank correlation above 0.70 [Gold line: positive correlation (R >0.70); Gray line: negative correlation (R <-0.70)] with an false discovery rate-corrected significance level under 0.05. Different groups of microorganisms and fermentation products were indicated by various colors: Bacteria (blue), Methanogens (green), Protozoa (purple), Fungi (orange), Fermentation products (red). Par = Paraprevotellaceae, <i>Mbr</i> = <i>Methanobrevibacter</i>, <i>Msp</i> = <i>Methanosphaera</i>, <i>Ep</i> = <i>Epidinium</i>, <i>Ent</i> = <i>Entodinium</i>, <i>Eud</i> = <i>Eudiplodinium</i>.</p

The composition of rumen fungi in the two groups.

<p>OLH = High group, OLL = Low group.</p

Comparing the concentrations of volatile fatty acids in the OLH and OLL groups.

<p>Comparing the concentrations of volatile fatty acids in the OLH and OLL groups.</p

The bacterial community composition in the two groups at phylum level (A) and genus level (B).

<p>OLH = High group, OLL = Low group. The relative abundance of Firmicutes*, <i>Pseudobutyrivibrio</i>*, and unidentified bacteria and <i>Prevotella</i> belonging to the family Paraprevotellaceae* was significantly different between the two groups, with * means the significance at <i>P</i><0.05.</p

Number of sequences, OTUs, and alpha-diversity indices in OLH and OLL groups.

<p>Number of sequences, OTUs, and alpha-diversity indices in OLH and OLL groups.</p

The composition of rumen methanogens in the two groups.

<p><i>Mbr</i> = <i>Methanobrevibacter</i>, <i>Msp</i> = <i>Methanosphaera</i>, <i>Mth</i> = <i>Methanomethylophilus</i>, OTUs = operational taxonomic units, OLH = High group, OLL = Low group.</p

Bacteria and Methanogens Differ along the Gastrointestinal Tract of Chinese Roe Deer (<i>Capreolus pygargus</i>)

<div><p>The current study provides the insight into the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and methanogens presented in the rumen and cecum of the Chinese roe deer (<i>Capreolus pygargus</i>). The ruminal, ileal, cecal, and colonic contents, as well as feces, were obtained from each of the three, free-range, roe deer ingesting natural pasture after euthanasia. For the bacterial community, a total of 697,031 high-quality 16S rRNA gene sequences were generated using high-throughput sequencing, and assigned to 2,223 core operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (12 bacterial phyla and 87 genera). The phyla Firmicutes (51.2%) and Bacteroidetes (39.4%) were the dominant bacteria in the GIT of roe deer. However, the bacterial community in the rumen was significantly (<i>P</i><0.01) different from the other sampled regions along the GIT. Secondly, <i>Prevotella</i> spp., <i>Anaerovibrio</i> spp., and unidentified bacteria within the families Veillonellaceae and Paraprevotellaceae were more abundant in the rumen than in the other regions. Unidentified bacteria within the family Enterobacteriaceae, <i>Succinivibrio</i> spp., and <i>Desulfovibrio</i> spp. were more predominant in the colon than in other regions. Unidentified bacteria within the family Ruminococcaceae, and <i>Bacteroides</i> spp. were more prevalent in the ileum, cecum and fecal pellets. For methanogens in the rumen and cecum, a total of 375,647 high quality 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained and assigned to 113 core OTUs. <i>Methanobrevibacter millerae</i> was the dominant species accounting for 77.3±7.4 (S.E) % and 68.9±4.4 (S.E) % of total sequences in the rumen and cecum of roe deer, respectively. However, the abundance of <i>Methanobrevibacter smithii</i> was higher in the rumen than in the cecum (<i>P</i> = 0.004). These results revealed that there was intra variation in the bacterial community composition across the GIT of roe deer, and also showed that the methanogen community in the rumen differed from that in the cecum.</p></div

Significant difference at genus level of bacterial communities along the GIT of three roe deer.

<p>The asterisk indicates <i>P</i><0.05, and # means the unclassified bacteria at the family, order, or class levels.</p

The relative abundance of bacterial communities at phylum (A) and genus (B) levels in the GIT of three roe deer.

<p>The relative abundance of bacterial communities at phylum (A) and genus (B) levels in the GIT of three roe deer.</p