Department of Biological Sciences, Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
CSIRO Entomology, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Microbiology (Reading). 2010 Mar;156(Pt 3):798-808. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.031997-0. Epub 2009 Oct 15.
Marsupial mammals, born in an extremely atricial state with no functional immune system, offer a unique opportunity to investigate both the developing microbiome and its relationship to that of the mother and the potential influence of this microbiome upon the development of the immune system. In this study we used a well-established marsupial model animal, Macropus eugenii, the tammar wallaby, to document the microbiome of three related sites: the maternal pouch and saliva, and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of the young animal. We used molecular-based methods, targeting the 16S rDNA gene to determine the bacterial diversity at these study sites. In the maternal pouch, 41 unique phylotypes, predominantly belonging to the phylum Actinobacteria, were detected, while in the saliva, 48 unique phylotypes were found that predominantly belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria. The GIT of the pouch young had a complex microbiome of 53 unique phylotypes, even though the pouch young were still permanently attached to the teat and had only been exposed to the external environment for a few minutes immediately after birth while making their way from the birth canal to the maternal pouch. Of these 53 phylotypes, only nine were detected at maternal sites. Overall, the majority of bacteria isolated were novel species (<97 % identity to known 16S rDNA sequences), and each study site (i.e. maternal pouch and saliva, and the GIT of the pouch young) possessed its own unique microbiome.
有袋类哺乳动物在极其早产的状态下出生，没有功能性免疫系统，为研究发育中的微生物组及其与母体微生物组的关系，以及微生物组对免疫系统发育的潜在影响提供了独特的机会。在这项研究中，我们使用了一种成熟的有袋动物模型动物，短尾矮袋鼠（Macropus eugenii），来记录三个相关部位的微生物组：母体育儿袋和唾液，以及幼崽的胃肠道（GIT）。我们使用了基于分子的方法，靶向 16S rDNA 基因，以确定这些研究部位的细菌多样性。在母体育儿袋中，检测到 41 个独特的类群，主要属于放线菌门，而在唾液中，发现了 48 个独特的类群，主要属于变形菌门。尽管幼崽仍然永久附着在乳头上，并且在出生后仅几分钟就从产道进入母体育儿袋后才暴露于外部环境，但育儿袋中的幼崽的胃肠道具有复杂的微生物组，其中有 53 个独特的类群。在这些 53 个类群中，只有 9 个在母体部位检测到。总的来说，分离出的大多数细菌都是新物种（与已知的 16S rDNA 序列的相似度<97%），并且每个研究部位（即母体育儿袋和唾液，以及育儿袋幼崽的 GIT）都具有其独特的微生物组。
