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Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs

JACK JEFFERSON, Claire Reigate, Alessandra Giacomini, M. Jordana Rivero, Matthew Hitchings Orcid Logo, Tamsyn Uren Webster Orcid Logo, Konstans Wells Orcid Logo

PLOS One, Volume: 20, Issue: 11, Start page: e0337086

Swansea University Authors: JACK JEFFERSON, Alessandra Giacomini, Matthew Hitchings Orcid Logo, Tamsyn Uren Webster Orcid Logo, Konstans Wells Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1371/journal.pone.0337086

Abstract

Livestock grazing in confined pastures often means grazing on a less diverse diet than under more natural conditions and increased exposure to gastrointestinal parasites prevailing in these pastures. However, how sward composition influences gut microbiome (GM) diversity and its relationship with pa...

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Published in: PLOS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70947
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However, how sward composition influences gut microbiome (GM) diversity and its relationship with parasite burden remains poorly understood. In this study, we analysed the faecal GM of weaned lambs grazing on two distinct sward types (perennial ryegrass and a mixed-species sward) over three consecutive months using 16S rRNA sequencing, in order to assess how microbial diversity and composition are related to environmental conditions and the gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burden in naturally infected lambs. Sward type and sampling time explained some of the variation in GM alpha diversity and community composition (beta diversity), whereas individual lamb identity accounted for considerably more variation in microbial assemblages. Shifts in the relative abundance of bacterial genera such as Saccharofermentans, Anaerosporobacter, Butyrivibrio in relation to sward type and sampling time suggest mostly adaptive fluctuations in response to diet and pasture condition. Abundance shifts of Negativibacillus, and Candidatus Saccharimonas were also associated with GIN burden, which, in turn, was higher in lambs grazing on mixed swards compared to ryegrass. Our findings add to the growing understanding of how sheep microbiomes vary with pasture management and changes in parasite burden. 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spelling 2025-12-11T15:58:15.7209530 v2 70947 2025-11-20 Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs 13258200424e31653e0219c1d5c462f6 JACK JEFFERSON JACK JEFFERSON true false a9529ee248e80d338ab3e6fedb2197eb Alessandra Giacomini Alessandra Giacomini true false be98847c72c14a731c4a6b7bc02b3bcf 0000-0002-5527-4709 Matthew Hitchings Matthew Hitchings true false 3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6 0000-0002-0072-9745 Tamsyn Uren Webster Tamsyn Uren Webster true false d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243 0000-0003-0377-2463 Konstans Wells Konstans Wells true false 2025-11-20 Livestock grazing in confined pastures often means grazing on a less diverse diet than under more natural conditions and increased exposure to gastrointestinal parasites prevailing in these pastures. However, how sward composition influences gut microbiome (GM) diversity and its relationship with parasite burden remains poorly understood. In this study, we analysed the faecal GM of weaned lambs grazing on two distinct sward types (perennial ryegrass and a mixed-species sward) over three consecutive months using 16S rRNA sequencing, in order to assess how microbial diversity and composition are related to environmental conditions and the gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burden in naturally infected lambs. Sward type and sampling time explained some of the variation in GM alpha diversity and community composition (beta diversity), whereas individual lamb identity accounted for considerably more variation in microbial assemblages. Shifts in the relative abundance of bacterial genera such as Saccharofermentans, Anaerosporobacter, Butyrivibrio in relation to sward type and sampling time suggest mostly adaptive fluctuations in response to diet and pasture condition. Abundance shifts of Negativibacillus, and Candidatus Saccharimonas were also associated with GIN burden, which, in turn, was higher in lambs grazing on mixed swards compared to ryegrass. Our findings add to the growing understanding of how sheep microbiomes vary with pasture management and changes in parasite burden. We highlight that individual identity may shape gut microbiota, and that potential triadic interactions among gastrointestinal parasites, sward exposure, and the gut microbiome underscore the importance of considering host, parasite, and environmental factors collectively when evaluating microbiome dynamics in grazing livestock. Journal Article PLOS One 20 11 e0337086 Public Library of Science (PLoS) 1932-6203 Microbiome; Grazing; Gut bacteria; Eggs; Ryegrass; Gastrointestinal infections; Livestock; Nematode infections 17 11 2025 2025-11-17 10.1371/journal.pone.0337086 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) We thank the Ecological Continuity Trust for a grant that supported the laboratory work and the BSAS Steve Bishop Net Zero Award for supporting field research and parasitological work. We thank the Rothamsted Farm Staff for support during field work with support from Techion UK Ltd. The grazing experiment is part of the Institute Strategic Programme “AgZero+: Towards sustainable, climate-neutral farming” (NE/W005050/1), an initiative jointly supported by NERC and BBSRC. 2025-12-11T15:58:15.7209530 2025-11-20T08:39:12.5228003 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences JACK JEFFERSON 1 Claire Reigate 2 Alessandra Giacomini 3 M. Jordana Rivero 4 Matthew Hitchings 0000-0002-5527-4709 5 Tamsyn Uren Webster 0000-0002-0072-9745 6 Konstans Wells 0000-0003-0377-2463 7 70947__35801__f44dde9ab7014d94a2de54b672e211d0.pdf 70947.VOR.pdf 2025-12-11T15:53:27.1586995 Output 1197111 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 Jefferson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 341 Konstans Wells 0000-0003-0377-2463 k.l.wells@swansea.ac.uk true https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/browser/view/ PRJEB93828 false
title Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
spellingShingle Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
JACK JEFFERSON
Alessandra Giacomini
Matthew Hitchings
Tamsyn Uren Webster
Konstans Wells
title_short Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
title_full Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
title_fullStr Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
title_full_unstemmed Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
title_sort Triadic relationships between pasture exposure, gastrointestinal parasites, and hindgut microbiomes in grazing lambs
author_id_str_mv 13258200424e31653e0219c1d5c462f6
a9529ee248e80d338ab3e6fedb2197eb
be98847c72c14a731c4a6b7bc02b3bcf
3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6
d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243
author_id_fullname_str_mv 13258200424e31653e0219c1d5c462f6_***_JACK JEFFERSON
a9529ee248e80d338ab3e6fedb2197eb_***_Alessandra Giacomini
be98847c72c14a731c4a6b7bc02b3bcf_***_Matthew Hitchings
3ea91c154926c86f89ea6a761122ecf6_***_Tamsyn Uren Webster
d18166c31e89833c55ef0f2cbb551243_***_Konstans Wells
author JACK JEFFERSON
Alessandra Giacomini
Matthew Hitchings
Tamsyn Uren Webster
Konstans Wells
author2 JACK JEFFERSON
Claire Reigate
Alessandra Giacomini
M. Jordana Rivero
Matthew Hitchings
Tamsyn Uren Webster
Konstans Wells
format Journal article
container_title PLOS One
container_volume 20
container_issue 11
container_start_page e0337086
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 1932-6203
doi_str_mv 10.1371/journal.pone.0337086
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
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description Livestock grazing in confined pastures often means grazing on a less diverse diet than under more natural conditions and increased exposure to gastrointestinal parasites prevailing in these pastures. However, how sward composition influences gut microbiome (GM) diversity and its relationship with parasite burden remains poorly understood. In this study, we analysed the faecal GM of weaned lambs grazing on two distinct sward types (perennial ryegrass and a mixed-species sward) over three consecutive months using 16S rRNA sequencing, in order to assess how microbial diversity and composition are related to environmental conditions and the gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) burden in naturally infected lambs. Sward type and sampling time explained some of the variation in GM alpha diversity and community composition (beta diversity), whereas individual lamb identity accounted for considerably more variation in microbial assemblages. Shifts in the relative abundance of bacterial genera such as Saccharofermentans, Anaerosporobacter, Butyrivibrio in relation to sward type and sampling time suggest mostly adaptive fluctuations in response to diet and pasture condition. Abundance shifts of Negativibacillus, and Candidatus Saccharimonas were also associated with GIN burden, which, in turn, was higher in lambs grazing on mixed swards compared to ryegrass. Our findings add to the growing understanding of how sheep microbiomes vary with pasture management and changes in parasite burden. We highlight that individual identity may shape gut microbiota, and that potential triadic interactions among gastrointestinal parasites, sward exposure, and the gut microbiome underscore the importance of considering host, parasite, and environmental factors collectively when evaluating microbiome dynamics in grazing livestock.
published_date 2025-11-17T05:30:49Z
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