Ecology of Uncultivated Oscillospira Species in the Rumen of Cattle, Sheep, and Reindeer as Assessed by Microscopy and Molecular Approaches

• DOI: 10.1128/aem.69.11.6808-6815.2003
• Publication Date: 2003-11-06T13:42:33Z
• Authors: Roderick I. Mackie; Rustam I. Aminov; Wenping Hu; Athol V. Klieve; Diane Ouwerkerk; Monica A. Sundset; Yoichi Kamagata
• Keywords: DNA, Bacterial; Electrophoresis; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Diseases of special classes of animals; Rumen; 590; Guillermondii; DNA, Ribosomal; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Microbial ecology; 03 medical and health sciences; 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Feeds and feeding. Animal nutrition; Animals; Veterinary bacteriology; Ecosystem; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; 580; Sheep; Bacteria; 16s Ribosomal-rna; Gen-nov; Organisms; Genetic Variation; Phylogenetic Analysis; Genes, rRNA; Ruminants; 15. Life on land; Animal Feed; In-situ Detection; Sequence-analysis; Lactobacillaceae; Sp-nov; Cattle; Female; Diurnal Changes; 0605 Microbiology; Reindeer

ABSTRACT

The ecology of the uncultured, but large and morphologically conspicuous, rumen bacterium Oscillospira spp. was studied. Oscillospira- specific 16S rRNA gene sequences were detected in North American domestic cattle, sheep from Australia and Japan, and Norwegian reindeer. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences obtained allowed definition of three operational taxonomic units within the Oscillospira clade. Consistent with this genetic diversity, we observed atypical smaller morphotypes by using an Oscillospira- specific fluorescence in situ hybridization probe. Despite the visual disappearance of typical large Oscillospira morphotypes, the presence of Oscillospira spp. was still detected by Oscillospira- specific PCR in the rumen of cattle and sheep. These observations suggest the broad presence of Oscillospira species in various rumen ecosystems with the level, and most likely the morphological form, dependent on diet. An ecological analysis based on enumeration of the morphologically conspicuous, large-septate form confirms that the highest counts are associated with the feeding of fresh forage diets to cattle and sheep and in two different subspecies of reindeer investigated.