Huang Zunxi

Phylogenetic analysis of the fecal flora of the wild pygmy loris

The bacterial diversity in fecal samples from the wild pygmy loris was examined with a 16S rDNA clone library and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The clones were classified as Firmicutes (43.1%), Proteobacteria (34.5%), Actinobacteria (5.2%), and Bacteroidetes (17.2%). The 58 different kinds of 16S rDNA sequences were classified into 16 genera and 20 uncultured bacteria. According to phylogenetic analysis, the major genera within the Proteobacteria was Pseudomonas, comprising 13.79% of the analyzed clone sequences. Many of the isolated rDNA sequences did not correspond to known microorganisms, but had high homology to uncultured clones found in human feces. Am. J. Primatol. 72:699–706, 2010.

Culture-independent analysis of microflora in Gayals (Bos frontalis) feces

Comparative DNA sequence analysis of 16S/18S rRNA genes (rDNA) were undertaken to further our understanding of the make-up of micro-organisms communities in the feces of Gayals. Total DNA were extracted from the feces of 5 Gayals. Two rDNA libraries (16S/18S rDNA) were constructed. In the 16S rDNA library, phylogenetic and sequence similarity analyses of the resultant 71 clone sequences revealed the presence of 67 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) or phylotypes and defined as having more than 97% of sequence similarity. The sequences were affiliated with the following phyla: Firmicutes (34.3%), Bacteroidetes (6.0%), Proteobacteria (4.5%), and uncultured bacteria (55.2%). A set of 58 sequences were analyzed in the 18S rDNA library, which were classified into 27 OTUs. They were mainly affiliated with the following phyla: Protozoa (25.9%), Basidiomycota (3.7%), Ascomycota (11.1%), and uncultured eukaryotes (59.3%). The sequence analysis indicated that more than half of the species, harbored in Gayals fecal belonged to the not-yet-cultured groups at 90% 16S/18S similarity levels with cultured species. In addition, micro-organisms of Chytridiomycetes was one of the most significant cellulose producing species obtained from the Gayal feces as well.