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Effects of Gasterophilus pecorum infestation on the intestinal microbiota of the rewilded Przewalski's horses in China.

ABSTRACT: Horse botflies have been a threat to the Przewalski's horses in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in Xinjiang of China since their reintroduction to the original range. As larvae of these parasites could infest the intestine of a horse for months, they could interact with and alter the structure and composition of its intestinal microbiota, affecting adversely its health. Nonetheless, there are no such studies on the rewilded Przewalski's horses yet. For the first time, this study characterizes the composition of the intestinal microbiota of 7 rewilded Przewalski's horses infected severely by Gasterophilus pecorum following and prior to their anthelmintic treatment. Bioinformatics analyses of the sequence data obtained by amplicon high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes showed that G. pecorum infestation significantly increased the richness of the intestinal microbial community but not its diversity. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were found the dominant phyla as in other animals, and the parasitic infestation decreased the F/B ratio largely by over 50%. Large reduction in relative abundances of the two genera Streptococcus and Lactobacillus observed with G. pecorum infestation suggested possible changes in colic and digestion related conditions of the infected horses. Variations on the relative abundance of the genus groups known to be pathogenic or symbiotic showed that adverse impact of the G. pecorum infestation could be associated with reduction of the symbiotic genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium that are probiotics and able to promote immunity against parasitic infection.

SUBMITTER: Hu D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8112688 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe departure of the mature larvae of the horse stomach bot fly from the host indicates the beginning of a new infection period. Gasterophilus pecorum is the dominant bot fly species in the desert steppe of the Kalamaili Nature Reserve (KNR) of northwest China as a result of its particular biological characteristics. The population dynamics of G. pecorum were studied to elucidate the population development of this species in the arid desert steppe.MethodsLarvae in the freshly excreted feces of tracked Przewalski's horses (Equus przewalskii) were collected and recorded. The larval pupation experiments were carried out under natural conditions.ResultsThere was a positive correlation between the survival rate and the number of larvae expelled (r = 0.630, p < 0.01); the correlation indicated that the species had characteristic peaks of occurrence. The main periods during which mature larvae were expelled in the feces were from early April to early May (peak I) and from mid-August to early September (peak II); the larval population curve showed a sudden increase and gradual decrease at both peaks. Under the higher temperatures of peak II, the adults developing from the larvae had a higher survival rate, higher pupation rate, higher emergence rate and shorter eclosion period than those developing from peak I larvae. Although G. pecorum has only one generation per year, its occurrence peaked twice annually, i.e. the studied population has a bimodal distribution, which doubles parasitic pressure on the local host. This phenomenon is very rarely recorded in studies on insect life history, and especially in those on parasite epidemiology.ConclusionThe period during which G. pecorum larvae are naturally expelled from the host exceeds 7 months in KNR, which indicates that there is potentially a long period during which hosts can become infected with this parasite. The phenomenon of two annual peaks of larvae expelled in feces is important as it provides one explanation for the high rate of equine myiasis in KNR.

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Effects of Gasterophilus pecorum infestation on the intestinal microbiota of the rewilded Przewalski's horses in China.

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