Institute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, UK.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2012 Dec;82(3):642-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2012.01441.x. Epub 2012 Jul 23.
The microbiome and associated metabolome of faecal samples were compared to those from the caecum and right dorsal colon of horses and ponies euthanised for nonresearch purposes by investigating the microbial population community structure as well as their functional metabolic products. Through the use of 16S rRNA gene dendrograms, the caecum microbiome was shown to cluster separately from the other gut regions. 16S rRNA gene-based quantitative PCR (q-PCR) also demonstrated differences between the caecum and the other gut regions. Metabolites as identified by Fourier transform infrared clustered in a similar way and specific metabolic products (volatile fatty acids and ammonia) also varied by region. Protozoal 18S rDNA concentration and archaeal mcrA gene concentration quantified by q-PCR were found in higher numbers in the colon than the other gut regions. Diversity calculations using Simpson and Shannon-Wiener indices demonstrated higher diversity in the right dorsal colon and faeces than in the caecum. All findings of this study suggest that faecal samples are likely to represent the microbial population of the right dorsal colon to some extent but not that of the caecum, indicating careful consideration is required when planning microbial investigations of the hindgut of the horse.
本研究通过调查微生物种群结构及其功能代谢产物，比较了非研究目的下安乐死的马和小马粪便样本与盲肠和右背结肠样本的微生物群和相关代谢组。通过使用 16S rRNA 基因系统发育树，盲肠微生物群与其他肠道区域聚类分开。基于 16S rRNA 基因的定量 PCR（q-PCR）也表明盲肠和其他肠道区域之间存在差异。通过傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）鉴定的代谢物以类似的方式聚类，并且特定的代谢产物（挥发性脂肪酸和氨）也因区域而异。通过 q-PCR 定量的原虫 18S rDNA 浓度和古菌 mcrA 基因浓度在结肠中比其他肠道区域更高。使用辛普森和香农-威纳指数进行的多样性计算表明，右背结肠和粪便的多样性高于盲肠。本研究的所有发现表明，粪便样本在某种程度上可能代表右背结肠的微生物种群，但不能代表盲肠的微生物种群，这表明在计划对马的后肠进行微生物研究时需要谨慎考虑。
