Characterization of Bacterial Microbiota Composition Along the Gastrointestinal Tract in Rabbits

Overview

Journal Animals (Basel)

Date 2020 Dec 30

PMID 33375259

Citations 24

Authors

Elisa Cotozzolo

Paola Cremonesi

Giulio Curone

Laura Menchetti

Federica Riva

Filippo Biscarini

Maria Laura Marongiu

Marta Castrica

Bianca Castiglioni

Dino Miraglia

Sebastiano Luridiana

Gabriele Brecchia

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The microbiota is extremely important for the animal's health, but, to date, knowledge on the intestinal microbiota of the rabbit is very limited. This study aimed to describe bacterial populations that inhabit the different gastrointestinal compartments of the rabbit: stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, and colon. Samples of the luminal content from all compartments of 14 healthy New White Zealand rabbits were collected at slaughter and analyzed using next generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing. The findings uncovered considerable differences in the taxonomic levels among the regions of the digestive tract. Firmicutes were the most abundant phylum in all of the sections (45.9%), followed by Bacteroidetes in the large intestine (38.9%) and Euryarchaeota in the foregut (25.9%). Four clusters of bacterial populations were observed along the digestive system: (i) stomach, (ii) duodenum and jejunum, (iii) ileum, and (iv) large intestine. Caecum and colon showed the highest richness and diversity in bacterial species, while the highest variability was found in the upper digestive tract. Knowledge of the physiological microbiota of healthy rabbits could be important for preserving the health and welfare of the host as well as for finding strategies to manipulate the gut microbiota in order to also promote productive performance.

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