The Chinese Monal(Lophophorus thuysii)is an alpine-obligate galliform species of global conservation priority.It has been listed as a first class protected wildlife species in China,requiring conservation actions duri...The Chinese Monal(Lophophorus thuysii)is an alpine-obligate galliform species of global conservation priority.It has been listed as a first class protected wildlife species in China,requiring conservation actions during the 14 th Five-Year Plan period.However,the diet composition of Chinese Monal and its seasonal variations have rarely been studied,constraining the effective conservation of the species.Here,we investigated the plant diet composition of the Chinese Monal and its seasonal variations using a DNA metabarcoding approach on fecal samples.We collected 190 fecal samples of the Chinese Monals from the central Qionglai Mountains located in China,and analyzed the plant diet of this species using a DNA metabarcoding approach.Taxonomic profiling of higher plants in the fecal samples was performed using the second internal transcribed spacer(ITS2)amplicon.Downstream analyses,including rarefaction curves,nonmetric multidimensional scaling(NMDS)and permutational multivariate analysis of variance(PERMANOVA),were used to explore the seasonal variations in diet composition.The Chinese Monal foraged a wide range of plant recipes composed of 35 families and 83 genera throughout the year,with Brassicaceae,Apiaceae,and Poaceae as the dominant families,and Cardamine as the dominant genus.The species consumed plants from 62 genera from 28 families during the breeding season(n=81)and 66 genera from 31 families during the non-breeding season(n=109).Further,the plant diet composition significantly varied between the breeding and non-breeding seasons,especially for the frequency of occurrence and relative read abundances at genus level.Our study analyzed the plant diet of the Chinese Monal at a high resolution for the first time,and the results revealed that the seasonal variations in its plant diet composition was adapted to plant phenology and foraging strategy.Fritillaria species,a previously confirmed important food resource for the Chinese Monal,were not detected in any fecal samples,potentially due to overharvesting of Fritillaria bulbs for Traditional Chinese Medicine.Therefore,we highly recommend further restriction of herb gathering in Chinese Monal habitats to facilitate the conservation of this endangered species.Altogether,our study enriches essential ecological information for the Chinese Monal and also provides insights into conservation management for this endangered species.展开更多
Animal body coverings provide protection and allow for adaptation to environmental pressures such as heat,ultraviolet radiation,water loss,and mechanical forces.Here,using a comparative genomics analysis of 39 mammal ...Animal body coverings provide protection and allow for adaptation to environmental pressures such as heat,ultraviolet radiation,water loss,and mechanical forces.Here,using a comparative genomics analysis of 39 mammal species spanning three skin covering types(hairless,scaly and spiny),we found some genes(e.g.,UVRAG,POLH,and XPC)involved in skin inflammation,skin innate immunity,and ultraviolet radiation damage repair were under selection in hairless ocean mammals(e.g.,whales and manatees).These signatures might be associated with a high risk of skin diseases from pathogens and ultraviolet radiation.Moreover,the genomes from three spiny mammal species shared convergent genomic regions(EPHB2,EPHA4,and NIN)and unique positively selected genes(FZD6,INVS,and CDC42)involved in skin cell polarity,which might be related to the development of spines.In scaly mammals,the shared convergent genomic regions(e.g.,FREM2)were associated with the integrity of the skin epithelium and epidermal adhesion.This study identifies potential convergent genomic features among distantly related mammals with the same skin covering type.展开更多
基金supported by Department of Wildlife Conservation,National Forestry and Grassland Administration of Chinathe National Natural Science Foundation of China(32000354)+1 种基金the Special Foundation for National Science and Technology Basic Research Program of China(2018FY100701)the Sichuan Science and Technology Program。
文摘The Chinese Monal(Lophophorus thuysii)is an alpine-obligate galliform species of global conservation priority.It has been listed as a first class protected wildlife species in China,requiring conservation actions during the 14 th Five-Year Plan period.However,the diet composition of Chinese Monal and its seasonal variations have rarely been studied,constraining the effective conservation of the species.Here,we investigated the plant diet composition of the Chinese Monal and its seasonal variations using a DNA metabarcoding approach on fecal samples.We collected 190 fecal samples of the Chinese Monals from the central Qionglai Mountains located in China,and analyzed the plant diet of this species using a DNA metabarcoding approach.Taxonomic profiling of higher plants in the fecal samples was performed using the second internal transcribed spacer(ITS2)amplicon.Downstream analyses,including rarefaction curves,nonmetric multidimensional scaling(NMDS)and permutational multivariate analysis of variance(PERMANOVA),were used to explore the seasonal variations in diet composition.The Chinese Monal foraged a wide range of plant recipes composed of 35 families and 83 genera throughout the year,with Brassicaceae,Apiaceae,and Poaceae as the dominant families,and Cardamine as the dominant genus.The species consumed plants from 62 genera from 28 families during the breeding season(n=81)and 66 genera from 31 families during the non-breeding season(n=109).Further,the plant diet composition significantly varied between the breeding and non-breeding seasons,especially for the frequency of occurrence and relative read abundances at genus level.Our study analyzed the plant diet of the Chinese Monal at a high resolution for the first time,and the results revealed that the seasonal variations in its plant diet composition was adapted to plant phenology and foraging strategy.Fritillaria species,a previously confirmed important food resource for the Chinese Monal,were not detected in any fecal samples,potentially due to overharvesting of Fritillaria bulbs for Traditional Chinese Medicine.Therefore,we highly recommend further restriction of herb gathering in Chinese Monal habitats to facilitate the conservation of this endangered species.Altogether,our study enriches essential ecological information for the Chinese Monal and also provides insights into conservation management for this endangered species.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Fund for Outstanding Youth Fund(31222009,31272295,31570489,81622048 and 81473377)the Project of Quality Guarantee System of Chinese Herbal Medicines(201507002)+1 种基金Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of Jiangsu Province(BK20140049)the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD).
文摘Animal body coverings provide protection and allow for adaptation to environmental pressures such as heat,ultraviolet radiation,water loss,and mechanical forces.Here,using a comparative genomics analysis of 39 mammal species spanning three skin covering types(hairless,scaly and spiny),we found some genes(e.g.,UVRAG,POLH,and XPC)involved in skin inflammation,skin innate immunity,and ultraviolet radiation damage repair were under selection in hairless ocean mammals(e.g.,whales and manatees).These signatures might be associated with a high risk of skin diseases from pathogens and ultraviolet radiation.Moreover,the genomes from three spiny mammal species shared convergent genomic regions(EPHB2,EPHA4,and NIN)and unique positively selected genes(FZD6,INVS,and CDC42)involved in skin cell polarity,which might be related to the development of spines.In scaly mammals,the shared convergent genomic regions(e.g.,FREM2)were associated with the integrity of the skin epithelium and epidermal adhesion.This study identifies potential convergent genomic features among distantly related mammals with the same skin covering type.
