Seasonal and individual differences in bacterial communities of wild elk as assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

Seasonal and individual differences in bacterial communities of wild elk as assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

Elk -- Digestive organs

Elk -- Microbiology

Rumen -- Microbiology

Rumen fermentation

Taylor, Barclay Austin

2006

O'Connell, Sean

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Elk (Cervus elaphus) are ruminants that depend on microorganisms within their digestive tract for survival. Microorganisms synthesize proteins. Vitamin B and K complexes, and create volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which are essential for proper nourishment of ruminants. In this study, I set out to analyze the diversity and seasonal succession of bacteria in the elk rumen using current microbial techniques. A wild herd in Great Smoky Mountains National Park provided a novel situation for sampling. Power Soil DNA Extraction Kits (Mo Bio Laboratories inc., Solana Beach, CA) were used to extract DNA from elk fecal pellets. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was utilized for DNA amplification and the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) process followed PCR for measuring community structure of the rumen microflora and for species identification. Results suggest differences in bacterial communities among seasons and individuals based on DGGE banding patterns and principal components analysis (PCA) plots. Shifts in banding patterns were revealed in Elk #2 (November to July) and Elk #49 (February to March) fecal samples, while Elk #67 (October, February, March, and April) fecal samples displayed no major changes in gel banding patterns. Bacterial diversity, as assessed by Shannon-Wiener index (H), revealed significant differences among elk and between individuals by season. Elk #49 (March) samples exhibited the lowest diversity, while Elk #67 (February) samples exhibited the highest diversity of bacteria in fecal pellets. Selected bands were excised from DGGE gels and sequenced. Ribosonal DatabaseProject II and GenBank databases were utilized and indicated that Gram-positive bacteria were present in the gut environment, including species from the genera Sporobacler, Bacillus, and Arthrobacter with the best sequence similarities ranging from 94-99%. Results from this study will help in understanding rumen ecosystems as well as give insight into the management of wild ruminants, e.g., relationships between food sources and resulting microbial populations.

2014-07-07

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