Characteristics of the species diversity of endobiontic infusoria in mammals in the Northern and Arctic territories

Thein terim results of the first year of the project,funded by theRussian Science Foundation(RSF), are presented. The study focuses  on the species  diversity of  the symbiofauna of  domestic  animals bred  in Yakutia.A total  of  1,760 samples  were  collected  from  various  types of  domestic  animals and analyzed.  The research identified  and described  98species of endobiontsin ruminantsand25species in horses (based on2breedtypesof theYakutbreed). Additionally, severalr are  species  of  ciliates  were  discovered during  the study. Notably, this  study is  the first to  compare the diversity  of Yakut aboriginal cattle with  crossbred  and Simmental cattle. The findings reveal  that  the endemic Yakut cow, bred under conditions of poor, low-nutrient feeding during along winter period, has developed an adaptive functional feature, such  as  a diverse  symbiont  fauna of  protozoa,  to  facilitate  the complete  breakdown and absorption of  limited nutrients in  the feed.  Furthermore, the study found no significant differences in  symbiofauna between the Even and Chukotka reindeer breeds, which differ in their breeding zones.

In  the Even breed of  deer,  a total  of  13 species  were  identified, while in  the Chukchi deer,  11  species  from  six genera were  found.  In  domestic  sheep and hybrids (which  are half  domestic  sheep and half  wild  bighorn sheep),  12 ciliate species were identified, buttheir diversity did not differ. In theYakuthorsebreed,15 species of endobiont ciliates were identified, of  which 11  are indigenous  and 14 are of  the Yan type. This  research provides the first data  on the endobionts of herd horses of the Yanatype of the Yakutbreed. Thestudied populations of herd horses were characterized by are latively high level of end obiontdiversity. The species similarity between two populations of the Yakut horse breed, bred  in  different geographical zones,  was demonstrated. This  research has identified  the symbiotic  fauna of  domestic animals and established a connection between the species  composition  of  the symbiotic  fauna and the habitat  of  the animals, including their social behavior.

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