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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiomes
Sec. Nutrition, Metabolism and the Microbiome
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frmbi.2024.1474497
This article is part of the Research Topic The Interaction Between Food Ingredients and Gut Microbiome on Health and Disease View all articles

Metagenomic analysis of goat feces from Ogliastra (Sardinia-Italy)

Provisionally accepted
Monica Rosaria Molotzu Monica Rosaria Molotzu 1*Piera Angela Cabras Piera Angela Cabras 1Lisa Di Marcantonio Lisa Di Marcantonio 2Rossano Atzeni Rossano Atzeni 3Nicolo Pietro Paolo Macciotta Nicolo Pietro Paolo Macciotta 4Antonella Canu Antonella Canu 1*
  • 1 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy
  • 2 Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Abruzzo and Molise G. Caporale, Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy
  • 3 CRS4 Centro di Ricerca, Sviluppo e Studi Superiori in Sardegna, Cagliari, Italy
  • 4 University of Sassari, Sassari, Sardegna, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    With its constitutive and functional characteristics, the intestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in the health condition of the animal. Variations in the composition and gene expression of the intestinal microbiota are associated with the risk of the onset of various pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variability in the composition of the intestinal microbiota of goats of different breeds (Sarda, Maltese, and Alpine) farmed in different flocks of the region of Ogliastra (Sardegna, Italy) and to assess whether the type of feeding (natural pasture grazing-based versus intensive) could affect the intestinal bacterial composition. We also evaluated possible differences in the composition of the intestinal microbiota between healthy and Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) affected goats. The economic damage caused by this pathology is due to the reduction in milk production, to the greater susceptibility of infected animals to contract diseases. The results of our study highlighted a statistically significant difference (p 0.001-0.005) in the intestinal bacterial composition between the intensively managed flock and the other natural pasture based. In particular, an abundance significantly greater of Acidoaminococcaceae in the intensive flock was observed. Furthermore, a significantly greater abundance of the Prevotellaceae was found in two localities in which, out of a total of 29 animals, only four tested negative for CAE. From this data we deduced that the presence of Prevotellaceae can be indicative in the diagnosis of the disease. This difference could be attributed to the farming system, being the Cardedu farm the only intensive one, and to the geographical distance of this location from the other sampling sites. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that extensive or intensive farm management may affect the intestinal microbiota of goats.

    Keywords: Goats, CAE, Metagenomic, Galaxy, Ogliastra

    Received: 01 Aug 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Molotzu, Cabras, Di Marcantonio, Atzeni, Macciotta and Canu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Monica Rosaria Molotzu, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy
    Antonella Canu, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy

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