Differences in intestinal barrier function between Tianhua mutton sheep and Gansu alpine fine wool sheep (Ovis aries)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference of intestinal barrier function between Tianhua mutton sheep and Gansu alpine fine wool sheep by HE staining, VFA assay and 16S full-length sequencing. The results showed as follows: 1) Compared with Gansu alpine fine wool sheep, Tianhua mutton sheep showed significantly higher villus height, significantly lighter crypt depth and significantly higher ratio of villus to crypt in duodenum and ileum (P-value < 0.05). 2) In both duodenum and jejunum, the contents of acetic acid and total acid were significantly higher in Tianhua mutton sheep than in Gansu alpine fine wool sheep (P-value < 0.05). 3) The overall comparison of the intestinal tract revealed that the Ace index of Tianhua mutton sheep was significantly higher than that of Alpine fine wool sheep (P-value < 0.05). The intestinal flora was able to separate significantly between the two breeds. LEfSe analysis found that Clostridia, Christensenellaceae-R-7-group-bacterium-AC2043 was the high abundance differential species in Tianhua mutton sheep. 4)The dominant flora of the two fine wool sheep were different in the five intestinal segments, but the content of beneficial bacteria of Tianhua mutton sheep was generally higher than that of Gansu alpine fine wool sheep. It can be seen that the intestinal barrier of Tianhua mutton sheep is better than that of Gansu alpine fine wool sheep, and Tianhua mutton sheep has a stronger adaptation to the living conditions of alpine pasture.