Effects of Geographic Region on the Composition of Bactrian Camel Milk in Mongolia.

Camel milk is considered as an essential source of nutrition for desert people. However, few studies have investigated how geography affects Bactrian camel milk in Mongolia. In this study, we evaluated the differences in gross composition, fatty acid composition, and amino acid composition among Bactrian camel milk samples collected from 102 Bactrian camels in five different Mongolian regions. The proportion of long-chain fatty acids, out of total fatty acids, was high in all samples of Bactrian camel milk. The primary fatty acids detected in the samples were palmitic acid (23.99-30.72%), oleic acid (17.21-24.24%), and stearic acid (11.13-16.49%), while the dominant amino acids were leucine, lysine, valine, and aspartic acid. Cysteine was the least common amino acid detected in the Bactrian camel milk samples. Considerable differences in the fatty acid and amino acid compositions were observed among Bactrian camel milk from different regions of Mongolia. The findings suggest that geography strongly affects the composition of camel milk.

High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals the Gut Microbiome of the Bactrian Camel in Different Ages.

The complex gut microbiota plays a key role in host metabolism and health. However, the core microbial communities in the different aged Bactrian camels remain totally unclear. We used high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the temporal variability of the fecal microbiota in Bactrian camels. At 2 months of age, the fecal microbiota was composed of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. At 1 and 3 years of age, the fecal microbiota was dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia. At the genus level, Blautia, Fusobacterium, and Bifidobacterium were more abundant at 2 months of age, as well as Escherichia-Shigella. Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, Akkermansia, and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group were the most abundant at 1 and 3 years of age. Diversity and stability of the gut microbiota increased with age. There was enrichment for genes associated with immune system diseases at 2 months of age. This study is the first to investigate the distribution of the gut microbiota in Bactrian camels with different ages and provide a baseline for future camel microbiology research.