| Yhteenveto: | Gut microbiota (the community of microbes) metabolises otherwise undigestible
components of the diet, most of all those found in plant and lichen cell walls. This
process forms short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) which are used as an energy source by
the host. Dietary changes such as those occurring naturally between seasons will
shape the gut microbiota composition which affects the type and quantity of SCFAs.
In this study, I quantify the differences in female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus
tarandus) (n=60) faecal microbiota and SCFAs under experimental conditions
between two commonly used winter husbandry methods in (1) pens (fully
supplemented) and in (2) pastures (mostly forage). Longitudinal samples for 16S
rRNA V4-region amplicon sequencing were collected between 26.11.2019 and
23.03.2020. During the experiment, the faecal microbiota of reindeers in pastures
had a significant decrease in alpha diversities and a major increase of
Bifidobacteriales (from <1% to 22% of the whole community abundance). Whereas
pen reindeer had a consistent microbiota throughout the experiment. These results
indicate that in pen reindeer the naturally occurring change is effectively
suppressed by the used husbandry method. Whereas the increase of
Bifidobacteriales might be beneficial to the offspring of pasture reindeer via vertical
transmission as it is connected to milk metabolism.
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