The bacterial microbiota in the gut varies among species, as well as with habitat, diet, age, and other factors. Intestinal microbiota homeostasis allows a host to adjust metabolic and immune performances in response to environmental changes. Therefore, potential implications of the gut microbiota in sustaining the health of the host have gained increasing attention in the field of endangered animal conservation. However, the effect of host intraspecies genetic variation on the gut microbiota is unknown. Moreover, little is known about the complexity of the gut mycobiota. Tigers are listed as endangered species, raising worldwide concern. Potential influences of subspecies, diet, and age on the gut microbiota in tigers were investigated in this study to provide a better understanding of the response of the tiger gut microbiota to external changes. The results revealed that the impacts of the factors listed above on gut bacterial and fungal communities are versatile. Host intraspecies genetic variation significantly impacted only fungal alpha diversity of the gut microbiota. Differences in diet, on the other hand, had a significant impact on alpha diversity of the gut microbiota, but exerted different effects on beta diversity of gut bacterial and fungal communities. Host age had no significant impact on the diversity of the gut fungal communities, but significantly impacted beta diversity of gut bacterial communities. This comprehensive study of tiger gut microbiota is an essential reference for tiger conservation when considering feeding and management strategies, and will contribute to a better understanding of the mycobiota in wildlife.

中文翻译：

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宿主物种的遗传变异，饮食和年龄对老虎细菌和真菌肠道菌群的影响。

肠道中的细菌菌群随物种以及生境，饮食，年龄和其他因素而变化。肠道菌群的动态平衡使宿主能够响应环境变化来调节代谢和免疫功能。因此，肠道菌群在维持宿主健康方面的潜在影响已在濒危动物保护领域受到越来越多的关注。然而，宿主种内遗传变异对肠道菌群的影响尚不清楚。此外，对肠道菌群的复杂性知之甚少。老虎被列为濒危物种，引起了全世界的关注。在这项研究中，研究了亚种，饮食和年龄对老虎肠道菌群的潜在影响，以更好地了解老虎肠道菌群对外部变化的反应。结果表明，上述因素对肠道细菌和真菌群落的影响是多方面的。寄主种内遗传变异只显着影响肠道菌群的真菌α多样性。另一方面，饮食差异对肠道菌群的α多样性有显着影响，但对肠道细菌和真菌群落的β多样性产生不同的影响。寄主年龄对肠道真菌群落的多样性没有显着影响，但是对肠道细菌群落的β多样性有显着影响。对老虎肠道菌群的全面研究是在考虑进食和管理策略时对老虎保护的重要参考，并将有助于更好地了解野生动物中的真菌菌群。