Collection of musk gland secretions (Musk)

The mating season of the musk deer is from November to January²⁶. The fresh musk specimens from 10 individuals (5 mated and 5 unmated) were obtained, weighed and recorded in early October (2014) (Table S1). They were all born in captivity and had not mated before. Their age range from 4.5 to 5.5 years old (Table S1). All samples of the musk pouches used for bacterial surveys were obtained directly from the musk gland scent pods of Chinese forest musk deer in the Chongqing Institute of Medicinal Plant Cultivation (Chongqing, China, altitude: 678m).

Musk deer were anesthetized with Telazol (4.5 mg/kg) delivered from a CO₂ -powered darting rifle, especially while the musk deer was alone and lying down. A special spoon was used for musk collection from the pod. Musk samples were placed in sterile cryogenic vials, stored in liquid nitrogen, and transported to Sichuan Agricultural University, where they remained frozen at −80 °C until their bacterial profiles were determined. All animal experimentation were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Sichuan Agricultural University under permit number DKY- S20143204. The methods were carried out in accordance with the approved guidelines.