Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, 1880 Pratt Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Am J Primatol. 2010 Jun;72(7):566-74. doi: 10.1002/ajp.20809.
Although the intestinal flora of chimpanzees has not been studied, insight into this dynamic environment can be obtained through studies on their feces. We analyzed fecal samples from human-habituated, wild chimpanzees at Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, and compared microbial community profiles to determine if members of the same social group were similar. Between July and December 2007, we collected fresh fecal samples from 12 individuals: four juveniles, four adolescents, and four adults, including three parent-offspring pairs. Each sample was analyzed using Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism of amplified 16S rRNA genes. Twelve different profiles were generated, having between 1 and 15 Terminal-Restriction Fragments (T-RFs). Overall, a total of 23 different T-RFs were produced. Putative assignments of T-RFs corresponded to the phyla Firmicutes (Clostridia, Bacilli, and Lactobacilli), Bacteroidetes, Tenericutes (Mollicutes Class), Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, as well as to uncultured or unidentified organisms. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla and Mollicutes Class were the most commonly assigned in 11, 8, and 8 of the samples, respectively, with this being the first report of Mollicutes in wild chimpanzees. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) revealed clustering of nine samples, and 80.5% of the diversity was accounted for by three samples. Morisita indices of community similarity ranged between 0.00 and 0.89, with dissimiliarity (<0.5) between most samples when compared two at a time. Our findings suggest that, although phylotypes are common among individuals, profiles among members of the same social group are host-specific. We conclude that factors other than social group, such as kinship and age, may influence fecal bacterial profiles of wild chimpanzees, and recommend that additional studies be conducted.
虽然尚未对黑猩猩的肠道菌群进行研究，但可以通过对其粪便的研究来了解这个动态环境。我们分析了坦桑尼亚马哈勒山国家公园适应人类生活的野生黑猩猩的粪便样本，比较了微生物群落的图谱，以确定同一社会群体的成员是否相似。在 2007 年 7 月至 12 月期间，我们从 12 只个体（4 只幼崽、4 只青少年和 4 只成年个体，包括 3 对亲代-后代）中采集了新鲜粪便样本。每个样本都使用扩增 16S rRNA 基因的末端限制性片段长度多态性（Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism，T-RFLP）进行分析。共生成了 12 种不同的图谱，具有 1 到 15 个末端限制性片段（Terminal-Restriction Fragment，T-RF）。总体而言，共产生了 23 个不同的 T-RF。T-RF 的假定分配对应于厚壁菌门（梭菌、芽孢杆菌和乳杆菌）、拟杆菌门、柔膜体纲（柔膜体纲类）、放线菌门和变形菌门，以及未培养或未鉴定的生物。在 11、8 和 8 个样本中，厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门以及柔膜体纲类被最常分配，这是首次在野生黑猩猩中报告柔膜体纲类。主成分分析（Principal Components Analysis，PCA）显示 9 个样本聚类，3 个样本解释了 80.5%的多样性。群落相似性的 Morisita 指数在 0.00 到 0.89 之间，当两个样本比较时，大多数样本之间的差异（<0.5）。我们的研究结果表明，尽管个体中存在共同的类群，但同一社会群体成员的图谱是宿主特异性的。我们得出结论，除了社会群体之外，亲缘关系和年龄等因素可能会影响野生黑猩猩的粪便细菌图谱，并建议进行更多的研究。
