BMC Veterinary Research (Sep 2020)

Effects of long-distance transportation on blood constituents and composition of the nasal microbiota in healthy donkeys

  • Fuwei Zhao,
  • Guimiao Jiang,
  • Chuanliang Ji,
  • Zhiping Zhang,
  • Weiping Gao,
  • Peixiang Feng,
  • Haijing Li,
  • Min Li,
  • Haibing Liu,
  • Guiqin Liu,
  • Humberto B. Magalhaes,
  • Jianji Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-02563-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Background This study aims to determine the effects of transportation on the nasal microbiota of healthy donkeys using 16S rRNA sequencing. Results Deep nasal swabs and blood were sampled from 14 donkeys before and after 21 hours’ long-distance transportation. The values of the plasma hormone (cortisol (Cor), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)), biochemical indicators (total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), creatinine (CREA), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate transaminase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), blood urea (UREA), plasma glucose (GLU)) and blood routine indices (white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte (LYM), neutrophil (NEU), red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB)) were measured. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to assess the nasal microbiota, including alpha diversity, beta diversity, and phylogenetic structures. Results showed that levels of Cor, ACTH, and heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90) were significantly increased (p < 0.05) after long-distance transportation. Several biochemical indicators (AST, CK) and blood routine indices (Neu, RBC, and HGB) increased markedly (p < 0.05), but the LYM decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Nine families and eight genera had a mean relative abundance over 1%. The predominant phyla in nasal microbiota after and before transportation were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Transportation stress induced significant changes in terms of nasal microbiota structure compared with those before transportation based on principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) coupled with analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) (p < 0.05). Among these changes, a notably gain in Proteobacteria and loss in Firmicutes at the phylum level was observed. Conclusions These results suggest transportation can cause stress to donkeys and change the richness and diversity of nasal microbiota. Further studies are required to understand the potential effect of these microbiota changes on the development of donkey respiratory diseases.

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