Genetic Diversity And Gut Microbiota Structure Of Wild Red Foxes In Tomur Mountains

The red fox(Vulpes vulpes)is one of the most widely distributed wild canine species in the world,so studying its genetic diversity and survival status is of great significance.Red foxes are frequently active in the Tumur Peak Nature Reserve in Xinjiang,but research on their population composition,genetic variation,and other aspects is still blank.This project plans to analyze the genetic diversity,variation and differentiation of the red fox population,as well as the differences in intestinal flora,from multiple perspectives and directions by means of non-invasive sampling,microsatellite and mitochondrial Cyt-b molecular marker technology and high-throughput sequencing technology,so as to have a more in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the living conditions of the red fox,Provide basic data for formulating protection strategies for red foxes in the protected area.The main research content and conclusions of this article are as follows:1.A total of 83 fecal samples were collected at four sampling points in the Tomur Mountains National Nature Reserve.After extracting fecal DNA,species identification was performed using animal COI universal primers.A total of 46 red fox fecal samples were identified,including 33 samples from Tagrak Ranch,6 samples from Kuzibayi,4 samples from Pochengzi,and 3 samples from Bozidun.2.A total of 76 alleles were detected at the 6 microsatellite loci selected.The average number of alleles at the four sampling points was 12.6667,the average polymorphism information content was 0.8255,the average observed heterozygosity was 0.4140,and the average expected heterozygosity was 0.8527,indicating moderate genetic diversity.After analyzing the gene flow and genetic differentiation coefficient among populations,the red fox population in the four sampling areas has a high degree of genetic differentiation,and the genetic variation of the population mainly comes from within the population.3.Based on mitochondrial Cyt-b gene molecular markers,it was found that the haplotype number of red fox populations at four sampling points was between 1-5,and the range of haplotype diversity was0.435-0.714,with the highest haplotype diversity in the Kuzibayi region.The number of mutation sites ranges from 1 to 12,and the nucleotide diversity ranges from 0.00312 to 0.00638.The genetic diversity of red foxes at four sampling points is moderate,which is consistent with the results analyzed through microsatellite methods.By analyzing the gene flow,genetic differentiation index and Genetic distance between populations,it is concluded that the genetic differentiation of Bozidun population is larger than that of other sampling points,and the red fox population of the other three sampling points has moderate genetic differentiation,and the genetic variation of the population mainly comes from within the population.This is highly consistent with the genetic differentiation results obtained from microsatellite markers.4.Based on high-throughput sequencing technology,the intestinal flora of red fox population at four sampling points was studied.The core flora of red fox was Proteobacteria,Actinobacteria,Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.A differential analysis of the gut microbiota of red foxes in four regions revealed significant differences in the gut microbiota composition of red fox populations in Pochengzi and Bozidun,Tagrak Ranch,and Bozidun,respectively,while there were no differences among other regions.