Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs
Increasing livestock densities and more severe drought events challenge sustainable management in South Africa’s semi-arid savannas. Effective mitigation strategies require accurate assessments of livestock foraging behaviour. By utilising high-throughput sequencing technology, this study evaluated...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Pensoft Publishers
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Metabarcoding and Metagenomics |
| Online Access: | https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/127959/download/pdf/ |
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| author | Danielle Botha Sandra Barnard Morné Du Plessis Mushal Allam Kai Behn Arshad Ismail Anja Linstädter Malesela Vincent Mokoka Zamantungwa Thobeka Happiness Mnisi Frances Siebert |
| author_facet | Danielle Botha Sandra Barnard Morné Du Plessis Mushal Allam Kai Behn Arshad Ismail Anja Linstädter Malesela Vincent Mokoka Zamantungwa Thobeka Happiness Mnisi Frances Siebert |
| author_sort | Danielle Botha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increasing livestock densities and more severe drought events challenge sustainable management in South Africa’s semi-arid savannas. Effective mitigation strategies require accurate assessments of livestock foraging behaviour. By utilising high-throughput sequencing technology, this study evaluated the use of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach (trnL and rbcL) together with study-area-specific reference libraries, to analyse cattle diets in two bioregions of the eastern semi-arid South African savanna. Both markers demonstrated the ability to identify various plant families, but trnL exhibited a higher diversity in terms of family and genus identification at both sampling sites. Forbs, although comprising a diverse component of savanna plant communities, have relatively small above-ground biomass, but can still serve as crucial forage items, especially during dry periods. Our study underscores the significant role of forbs in cattle diets, demonstrating a shift in cattle foraging preferences from grass-based diets to higher inclusions of forbs and woody taxa during the drier season. Although grasses, such as Setaria, were still prevalent, forbs, belonging to the genera Malvastrum, Asparagus, Pollichia and Ipomoea were also important food items for cattle as well as woody taxa belonging to Fabaceae, Combretaceae, Ebenaceae, and Malvaceae with a selection of food items from trees and shrubs from genera Albizia, Combretum, Euclea and Vachellia. Furthermore, our study highlights the value of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for understanding herbivorous diets. Using trnL and rbcL markers, with study-area-specific reference libraries, improves taxonomic resolution for accurately reconstructing cattle diets in semi-arid savannas. This study may improve biodiversity estimates and inform sustainable rangeland management strategies in semi-arid African savanna ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c1e69c8fc0fa40cd83c3203be2d4f4ea |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2534-9708 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Pensoft Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metabarcoding and Metagenomics |
| spelling | doaj-art-c1e69c8fc0fa40cd83c3203be2d4f4ea2025-08-20T02:32:49ZengPensoft PublishersMetabarcoding and Metagenomics2534-97082024-11-01838141010.3897/mbmg.8.127959127959Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbsDanielle Botha0Sandra Barnard1Morné Du Plessis2Mushal Allam3Kai Behn4Arshad Ismail5Anja Linstädter6Malesela Vincent Mokoka7Zamantungwa Thobeka Happiness Mnisi8Frances Siebert9North-West UniversityNorth-West UniversityUniversity of the Free StateNational Institute for Communicable DiseasesUniversity of BonnDurban University of TechnologyUniversity of PotsdamUniversity of PretoriaUniversity of PretoriaNorth-West UniversityIncreasing livestock densities and more severe drought events challenge sustainable management in South Africa’s semi-arid savannas. Effective mitigation strategies require accurate assessments of livestock foraging behaviour. By utilising high-throughput sequencing technology, this study evaluated the use of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach (trnL and rbcL) together with study-area-specific reference libraries, to analyse cattle diets in two bioregions of the eastern semi-arid South African savanna. Both markers demonstrated the ability to identify various plant families, but trnL exhibited a higher diversity in terms of family and genus identification at both sampling sites. Forbs, although comprising a diverse component of savanna plant communities, have relatively small above-ground biomass, but can still serve as crucial forage items, especially during dry periods. Our study underscores the significant role of forbs in cattle diets, demonstrating a shift in cattle foraging preferences from grass-based diets to higher inclusions of forbs and woody taxa during the drier season. Although grasses, such as Setaria, were still prevalent, forbs, belonging to the genera Malvastrum, Asparagus, Pollichia and Ipomoea were also important food items for cattle as well as woody taxa belonging to Fabaceae, Combretaceae, Ebenaceae, and Malvaceae with a selection of food items from trees and shrubs from genera Albizia, Combretum, Euclea and Vachellia. Furthermore, our study highlights the value of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for understanding herbivorous diets. Using trnL and rbcL markers, with study-area-specific reference libraries, improves taxonomic resolution for accurately reconstructing cattle diets in semi-arid savannas. This study may improve biodiversity estimates and inform sustainable rangeland management strategies in semi-arid African savanna ecosystems.https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/127959/download/pdf/ |
| spellingShingle | Danielle Botha Sandra Barnard Morné Du Plessis Mushal Allam Kai Behn Arshad Ismail Anja Linstädter Malesela Vincent Mokoka Zamantungwa Thobeka Happiness Mnisi Frances Siebert Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs Metabarcoding and Metagenomics |
| title | Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs |
| title_full | Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs |
| title_fullStr | Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs |
| title_short | Application of a dual-locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi-arid African savanna with special reference to forbs |
| title_sort | application of a dual locus metabarcoding approach for a more comprehensive account of cattle dietary items in a semi arid african savanna with special reference to forbs |
| url | https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/127959/download/pdf/ |
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