Sex Differences in Fecal Microbiome Composition and Function of Dromedary Camels in Saudi Arabia

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The gastrointestinal microbiome plays a significant role in diet digestion and the energy production of its host. This study investigated the influence of sex on the fecal microbiome of camels. Our findings revealed sex differences in the composition and function of fecal microbiomes. This research, to the best of our knowledge, is the first characterization of the fecal core bacteriomes of male and female dromedary camels. The variation in the intestinal microbial communities between male and female dromedary camels lies in the abundance and prevalence of taxa rather than in the presence and absence of bacterial taxa. ABSTRACT: The gastrointestinal microbiome plays a significant role in diet digestion and the energy production of its host. Several factors that affect the gastrointestinal microbiota composition were studied in camels. Yet, the impact of sex on the gastrointestinal bacteriome of camels remains unexplored to date. In this perspective, the fecal microbiome community composition from dromedary camels was determined in 10 male and 10 female samples using the 16S rRNA amplicon, in order to estimate if this was influenced by sex. The core microbiome in females contained 284 bacterial OTUs and one archaeal OUT, whereas in males, it contained 279 bacterial OTUs and one archaeal OTU. In females, Bacteroidetes and Spirochaetes were significantly more abundant than in male camels, whereas Lentisphaerae and Euryarchaeota were significantly abundant in males. According to Principal Coordinate Analysis and UPGMA clustering, grouping with respect to sex was observed. The functional prediction results showed differences such as energy production and conversion, and that the cell wall/membrane/envelope were enriched in female camels. The fecal microbiome of male camels was rich in amino acid, lipid transport and metabolism.