Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia
There is limited investigation of the alpaca microbiome on a global scale, with no previous research conducted in Australia characterising the faecal microbiome. The microbiome composition in other ruminants has been shown to impact feed efficiency, average daily gain and methane production. This st...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| author | Imogen Boughey Francisca Samsing Evelyn Hall Rachael Rodney Russell Bush |
| author_facet | Imogen Boughey Francisca Samsing Evelyn Hall Rachael Rodney Russell Bush |
| author_sort | Imogen Boughey |
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| description | There is limited investigation of the alpaca microbiome on a global scale, with no previous research conducted in Australia characterising the faecal microbiome. The microbiome composition in other ruminants has been shown to impact feed efficiency, average daily gain and methane production. This study aimed to characterise the faecal microbiome of alpacas raised in south-eastern Australia and identify variation across geographic regions. Faecal samples were collected from 59 healthy adult female alpacas, aged between 15 months and 17 years in NSW, Australia. Firmicutes were identified as the dominant phyla, accounting for 57.78% of the cumulative abundance, followed by Bacteroidota (29.12%). These two phyla accounted for 90% of the taxa, with the cumulative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteriodota significantly differing (<i>p</i> < 0.05) across locations. There was no effect of age on the frequency of microbes identified at either phyla or class levels. The alpaca’s production status only significantly affected the abundance of Firmicutes <i>Clostridia Oscillospirales</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.0026). The breakdown of the alpaca faecal microbiome identified here is consistent with previous ruminant and camelid studies. This study provides a valuable baseline for the microbiome characterisation of alpacas in south-eastern Australia and can be used as a baseline for further microbiome studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-508c6207e7c0488187e8a303df7a6d5f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-508c6207e7c0488187e8a303df7a6d5f2025-08-20T03:26:16ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-06-011512174810.3390/ani15121748Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern AustraliaImogen Boughey0Francisca Samsing1Evelyn Hall2Rachael Rodney3Russell Bush4Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden, NSW 2567, AustraliaSydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden, NSW 2567, AustraliaSydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden, NSW 2567, AustraliaFenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Building 141, Linnaeus Way, Canberra, ACT 2601, AustraliaSydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden, NSW 2567, AustraliaThere is limited investigation of the alpaca microbiome on a global scale, with no previous research conducted in Australia characterising the faecal microbiome. The microbiome composition in other ruminants has been shown to impact feed efficiency, average daily gain and methane production. This study aimed to characterise the faecal microbiome of alpacas raised in south-eastern Australia and identify variation across geographic regions. Faecal samples were collected from 59 healthy adult female alpacas, aged between 15 months and 17 years in NSW, Australia. Firmicutes were identified as the dominant phyla, accounting for 57.78% of the cumulative abundance, followed by Bacteroidota (29.12%). These two phyla accounted for 90% of the taxa, with the cumulative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteriodota significantly differing (<i>p</i> < 0.05) across locations. There was no effect of age on the frequency of microbes identified at either phyla or class levels. The alpaca’s production status only significantly affected the abundance of Firmicutes <i>Clostridia Oscillospirales</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.0026). The breakdown of the alpaca faecal microbiome identified here is consistent with previous ruminant and camelid studies. This study provides a valuable baseline for the microbiome characterisation of alpacas in south-eastern Australia and can be used as a baseline for further microbiome studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/12/1748alpacacamelidfaecal microbiome |
| spellingShingle | Imogen Boughey Francisca Samsing Evelyn Hall Rachael Rodney Russell Bush Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia Animals alpaca camelid faecal microbiome |
| title | Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia |
| title_full | Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia |
| title_fullStr | Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia |
| title_short | Characterisation of the Faecal Microbiome of Alpacas Raised in South Eastern Australia |
| title_sort | characterisation of the faecal microbiome of alpacas raised in south eastern australia |
| topic | alpaca camelid faecal microbiome |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/12/1748 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT imogenboughey characterisationofthefaecalmicrobiomeofalpacasraisedinsoutheasternaustralia AT franciscasamsing characterisationofthefaecalmicrobiomeofalpacasraisedinsoutheasternaustralia AT evelynhall characterisationofthefaecalmicrobiomeofalpacasraisedinsoutheasternaustralia AT rachaelrodney characterisationofthefaecalmicrobiomeofalpacasraisedinsoutheasternaustralia AT russellbush characterisationofthefaecalmicrobiomeofalpacasraisedinsoutheasternaustralia |