Although it is well documented that the gut microbiota plays an important role in health and disease in mammalian species, this area has been poorly studied among carnivorous animals, especially within the mustelidae family. The gastrointestinal tract of carnivores is characterized by its short length and fast transit time, as compared to omnivores and herbivores, which is due to the low level of inherent fermentation. Mink represents an example of this, which have a GI tract only four times the length of the body and a transit time of approximately 4–5 hr. In this study, we used high‐throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to explore the resident gut microbiota of the mink in terms of intra‐and interindividual diversity. We report, for the first time, that the mucosa‐associated bacterial community within the colon is diverse and dissimilar from the community found in the feed. We found large interindividual differences in bacterial composition between individual animals being dominated generally by the phylum Firmicutes, but in some cases also Proteobacteria or Fusobacteria. The bacterial load and community structure within the mucus was not severely impacted by 3 days of fasting, which implies that a resident and stable microbiota is hosted by these animals.

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Summary The effect of the content of protein and fat in the feed on the development of fatty infiltration of the liver in the period from weaning until pelting was measured in two groups of male scanblack mink (Mustela vison) fed 20% and 45%, respectively, of metabolizable energy (ME) from protein. Furthermore, plasma activity of alanine‐aminotransferase and the content of specifically chosen clinical‐chemical variables in the blood were measured. At pelting time in December, the liver weights were absolutely and relatively heavier to body weight and had a considerably higher fat content at 20% of ME from protein than at 45% of ME from protein. From August to pelting time, the activity of alanine‐aminotransferase in plasma was higher at a low protein level than at a higher protein level in the feed. It is concluded that the content of protein and fat in the feed affects the incidence of hepatic fatty infiltration in mink. In the growth period, it is possible, based on plasma activity of alanine‐aminotransferase, to select animals with histological fatty infiltration of the liver.

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