Differences in Intestinal Microbiota Between White and Common Cranes in the Yellow River Delta During Winter

The avian intestinal microbiota is a vital interface for host/environment interactions, playing a pivotal role in nutrient metabolism, immune regulation, and ecological adaptation. In the Yellow River Delta region, common cranes and white cranes coexist in mixed flocks. During the winter, when food resources are scarce, studying their gut microbiota can effectively reveal the feeding patterns of these two crane species, thereby providing valuable data for crane conservation efforts. This study systematically investigated and compared the intestinal microbiota structures of white cranes (<i>Grus leucogeranus</i>) and common cranes (<i>Grus grus</i>) inhabiting the Yellow River Delta region. The results demonstrated that the predominant phyla of the intestinal microbiota in white and common cranes are Firmicutes and Proteobacteria at the phylum level; <i>Catellicoccus</i> and <i>Lactobacillus</i> were the predominant genera in the crane species. LEfse was used to analyze the differential flora of the intestinal bacterial communities of white cranes and common cranes and to detect the marker species with significant differences between the groups. Based on the COG database, a preliminary functional prediction of the intestinal microbiota was conducted, and 16 metabolic pathways relating to the COG pathway were obtained. In general, although both types of cranes belong to the <i>Grus</i> genus and are distributed in the same area, there are significant differences in the composition and functional characteristics of their intestinal microbiota due to the differences in their feeding composition.