Geographical Relationships between Long-Tailed Goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) Populations Based on Gut Microbiome Analysis

Abstract

The long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is an endangered species found in the mountains of eastern and northern Asia. Its populations have declined for various reasons, and this species has been designated as legally protected in South Korea. Although various ecological studies have been conducted on long-tailed gorals, none have investigated the gut microbiome until now. In the present study, we compared the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome of seven populations of Korean long-tailed gorals. By analyzing the gut microbiome composition for each regional population, it was found that four phyla-Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, Bacteroidota, and Proteobacteria-were the most dominant in all regions on average. The alpha diversity of the gut microbiome of the goral population in the northern regions was high, while that in the southern regions was low. Through the analysis of beta diversity, the seven long-tailed goral populations have been divided into three groups: the Seoraksan population, the Samcheock population, and the Wangpicheon population. It was possible to confirm the regional migration of the animals using the gut microbiome based on the site-relational network analysis. It was found that the most stable population of long-tailed gorals in Korea was the Seoraksan population, and the closely related groups were the Samcheok and Wangpicheon populations, respectively. Wangpicheon appeared to be a major point of dispersal in the migration route of Korean long-tailed gorals.

Keywords: 16s rRNA sequencing; Naemorhedus caudatus; endangered species; geographical relationship; gut microbiome; long-tailed goral; network analysis; ruminant.

Figure 1

Map of the seven study sites in South Korea, where fecal samples were collected, and photo of the long-tailed goral. Abbreviations: SA = Seoraksan National Park (n = 24); OD = Odaesan National Park (n = 8); WA = Woraksan National Park (n = 6); TB = Taebaeksan National Park (n = 3); SC = Samcheok Area (n = 27); WPC = Wangpicheon Conservation Area (n = 14); JW = Juwangsan National Park (n = 4). Map generated from QGIS 3.10.12 with VWORLD map.

Figure 2

Bar charts representing the relative abundance of the total 16S rRNA sequence, taxonomically classified at the (A) phylum level and (B) genus level. Abbreviations: JW = Juwangsan National Park; OD = Odaesan National Park; SC = Samcheok Area; SA = Seoraksan National Park; TB = Taebaeksan National Park; WPC = Wangpicheon Conservation Area; WA = Woraksan National Park.

Figure 3

Alpha diversity indices of the gut microbial communities at each sampling site. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Figure 4

(A) Principal Coordinate Analysis using Bray−Curtis distances. Abbreviations: JW = Juwangsan National Park; OD = Odaesan National Park; SC = Samcheok Area; SA = Seoraksan National Park; TB = Taebaeksan National Park; WPC = Wangpicheon Conservation Area; WA = Woraksan National Park. (B) Maximum distance analysis of the gut microbial communities between sampling sites. The yellow, green, and gray backgrounds indicate the maximum distance in the Wangpicheon Conservation Area, Seoraksan National Park, and Samcheok Area, respectively.

Figure 5

Site-relational network connecting long-tailed goral populations to habitat sites. Abbreviations: JW = Juwangsan National Park; OD = Odaesan National Park; SC = Samcheok Area; SA = Seoraksan National Park; TB = Taebaeksan National Park; WPC = Wangpicheon Conservation Area; WA = Woraksan National Park.