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Simple Summary: The gut bacterial community of two captive ducks was investigated in this study across seasons. It was discovered that the composition of gut bacteria was significantly affected by seasonal variations, with greater diversity in winter. Different seasons yielded different biomarkers, with the majority found in winter when a more intricate bacterial network structure was seen. Ten important pathogenic bacterial species were discovered and appeared to be more abundant in the summer. The presence of significant pathogenic bacteria was demonstrated by this study, raising concerns for captive animals, and shedding light on how gut bacterial composition is affected by seasonal fluctuations. Vertebrates and their gut bacteria interact in complex and mutually beneficial ways. The intestinal microbial composition is influenced by several external influences. In addition to food, the abiotic elements of the environment, such as temperature, humidity, and seasonal fluctuation are also important determinants. Fecal samples were collected from two captive duck species, Baikal teal (Sibirionetta formosa) and common teal (Anas crecca) across four seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring). These ducks were consistently fed the same diet throughout the entire experiment. High throughput sequencing (Illumina Mi-seq) was employed to analyze the V4–V5 region of the 16sRNA gene. The dominant phyla in all seasons were Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Interestingly, the alpha diversity was higher in winter for both species. The NMDS, PCoA, and ANOSIM analysis showed the distinct clustering of bacterial composition between different seasons, while no significant differences were discovered between duck species within the same season. In addition, LefSe analysis demonstrated specific biomarkers in different seasons, with the highest number revealed in winter. The co-occurrence network analysis also showed that during winter, the network illustrated a more intricate structure with the greatest number of nodes and edges. However, this study identified ten potentially pathogenic bacterial species, which showed significantly enhanced diversity and abundance throughout the summer. Overall, our results revealed that season mainly regulated the intestinal bacterial community composition and pathogenic bacteria of captive ducks under the instant diet. This study provides an important new understanding of the seasonal variations in captive wild ducks' intestinal bacterial community structure. The information available here may be essential data for preventing and controlling infections caused by pathogenic bacteria in captive waterbirds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by habitat loss from anthropogenic activities, wintering migratory birds forage together with poultry in paddy fields, and thus impose risks of cross transmitting pathogens. To date, there is little evidence for such risks of pathogen transmission between wild birds and poultry. Using the high‐throughput sequencing, we report on detected potential pathogens of both wild hooded cranes Grus monacha and sympatric domestic geese Anser anser domesticus during the wintering period, and infer the possibility of cross‐species pathogen transmission. The results revealed that the number of shared amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of potential pathogens between the gut microbiota of the two species was low during the early wintering stage (17.2%; 5 ASVs shared) but increased to 56.3% (18 ASVs shared) during the late wintering stage. That is, potential pathogens in the gut microbial communities of the two species became more similar through co‐foraging in paddy fields, supporting cross transmission of pathogens between hooded cranes and domestic geese during the wintering period. Importantly, transmission appeared to be largely from wild hooded cranes to domestic geese, although some potential pathogens may have become specialized to the domestic goose in the late wintering stage. Humans are also face the risks of contracting these potential pathogens from migratory birds through their frequent contacts with domestic poultry. It is, therefore, necessary to closely monitor this pathway of pathogen transmission from wild birds to domestic animals and even to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term high intensity continuous cropping with heavy application of mineral fertilization resulted in soil degradation and accumulation of soil-borne plant pathogens. Fungi are key microbial components and closely related to soil health in agroecosystem. In this study, the responses of fungal communities to different agricultural practices were investigated in upland of Ultisol using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and high-throughput sequencing (Illumina MiSeq). The study involved four management treatments: no fertilization (Control), mineral NPK fertilizer (NPK), NPK fertilizer plus peanut straw (NPKS), and NPK fertilizer plus planting green manure (i.e., hairy vetch; NPKG). By comparison with the NPK, application of NPKG significantly increased soil fertility and peanut yield. The NPKS and NPKG significantly increased soil fungal abundance relative to the NPK. Different agricultural practices significantly altered soil fungal community composition in Ultisol. Soil pH and phosphorus content were the two most pivotal drivers shaping fungal community structure. Compared to the NPK, the NPKS and NPKG significantly increased the relative abundance of Basidiomycota. The NPKG increased the relative abundance of certain plant-beneficial fungal taxa and decreased the relative abundance and diversity of plant-pathogen relative to NPK and NPKS, thereby contributing to suppressing continuous cropping barriers and increasing peanut productivity. Overall, our results suggested that planting hairy vetch might outperform NPK or returning peanut straw for improving peanut yield by increasing soil fertility and altering fungal community structure in upland of Ultisol. • Different practices affected fungal abundance and community structure in Ultisol. • Shifts in soil P and pH led to divergence in fungal community among treatments. • Application of hairy vetch decreased the relative abundance of plant-pathogen. • Hairy vetch increased crop yield by improving soil fertility and fungal community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory birds travel long distance and link various pathogens. Due to habitat degradation, wintering waterfowls forage together with poultry, increasing the risk of pathogen transmission between hosts. We investigated the fungal communities between wintering Hooded Cranes and Domestic Geese by high-throughput sequencing, and inferred the potential gut pathogens for both hosts at different wintering stages. The fungal community compositions were significantly different between seasons and between the hosts. The negative correlation was found between fungal diversity and pathogenic diversity, with higher fungal diversity and less pathogenic diversity in early stage and less fungal diversity and higher pathogenic diversity in late stage for both hosts. The dissimilarity of pathogenic community compositions decreased from early to late stage, with the quantity of overlapping potential pathogenic OTUs increasing along wintering periods between the two hosts, demonstrating the existence of pathogen cross transmission between the two hosts. Furthermore, the transmission pathway of avian pathogens was mainly from Hooded Cranes to Domestic Geese while the transmission direction of human pathogens was primarily from Domestic Geese to wild cranes. Based on above results, we argued that pathogen cross transmission and underlying outbreak risk of disease should be closely monitored in migratory birds and domestic poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]