The gut microbiota helps the host to absorb nutrients and generate immune responses that can affect host behavior, development, reproduction, and overall health. However, in most of the previous studies, microbiota was sampled mainly using feces and intestinal contents from mammals but not from wild reptiles. Here, we described the bacterial profile from five different gastrointestinal tract (GIT) segments (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and cloaca) of three wild Rhabdophis subminiatus using 16S rRNA V4 hypervariable amplicon sequencing. Forty‐seven bacterial phyla were found in the entire GIT, of which Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were predominant. The results showed a significant difference in microbial diversity between the upper GIT segments (esophagus and stomach) and lower GIT segments (large intestine and cloaca). An obvious dynamic distribution of Fusobacteria and Bacteroidetes was observed, which mainly existed in the lower GIT segments. Conversely, the distribution of Tenericutes was mainly observed in the upper GIT. We also predicted the microbial functions in the different GIT segments, which showed that microbiota in each segments played an important role in higher membrane transport and carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. Microbes in the small intestine were also mainly involved in disease‐related systems, while in the large intestine, they were associated with membrane transport and carbohydrate metabolism. This is the first study to investigate the distribution of the gut microbiota and to predict the microbial function in R. subminiatus . The composition of the gut microbiota certainly reflects the diet and the living environment of the host. Furthermore, these findings provide vital evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of gut diseases in snakes and offer a direction for a model of energy budget research.

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Cletus rubidiventris is a crop pest, especially for rice. This study first reported the complete mitochondrial genome of this species. The total length of mitochondrial genome is 15,590 bp and including 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes, with 31.8% T, 15.8% C, 41.6% A, and 10.8% G. The overall GC content of the genome is 27%. The mitochondrial genome order, nucleotide composition, and codon usage pattern is similar to C. punctiger. The phylogenetic tree shows that C. rubidiventris belong to the Coreidae.

Tao He (2019) The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Rhabdophisadleri (Squamata: Colubridae), Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 4:1, 423-425, ABSTRACTThe study has determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Rhabdophis adleri. The mitogenome was 17,505 bp in size, containing 26.33% T, 27.08% C, 33.38% A, and 13.21% G, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, as well as 2 Dloop regions. The gene arrangement, nucleotide composition, and the codon usage pattern of the mitochondrial genome of R. adleri were alike in other alethinophidian snakes. The phylogenetic reconstruction analyses yielded similar topologies, having been expressed that R. adleri can strongly be placed within Colubridae. ARTICLE HISTORY

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