Gut Microbiota Differences in Wild Asian Elephants From Pu'er, China

The gut microbiota of Asian elephants plays a critical role in their health and habitat adaptation. This study compared the gut microbiota of two wild Asian elephant populations in Jiangcheng (JC) and Liushun (LS), Yunnan, China. Significant differences in microbial structure, diversity, and function were found. Across samples, 24 phyla, 48 classes, 98 orders, 164 families, 288 genera, and 351 species were annotated. JC and LS shared 1897 OTUs, with 3890 and 3789 unique OTUs, respectively. Both groups were dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia, but Proteobacteria was uniquely dominant in LS. At the family level, Flavobacteriaceae contributed most to JC differences (LDA≈4.2), while Bacteroidaceae (LDA≈4.0) drove LS differences. Alpha diversity showed no significant difference in Chao1, but Shannon and Simpson indices were significantly higher in JC than in LS (p < 0.05). Functional prediction revealed JC was enriched in genetic information processing and energy metabolism, whereas LS showed higher proportions of environmental adaptation and material metabolism pathways. These differences likely reflect food resources and environmental factors, indicating gut microbiota plasticity in response to heterogeneous habitats. The findings provide valuable insights for habitat quality assessment and gut microecological conservation of Asian elephants.