Composition of gut and oropharynx bacterial communities in Rattus norvegicus and Suncus murinus in China

Abstract

Background Rattus norvegicus and Suncus murinus are important reservoirs of zoonotic bacterial diseases. An understanding of the composition of gut and oropharynx bacteria in these animals is important for monitoring and preventing such diseases. We therefore examined gut and oropharynx bacterial composition in these animals in China. Results Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant phyla in faecal and throat swab samples of both animals. However, the composition of the bacterial community differed significantly between sample types and animal species. Firmicutes exhibited the highest relative abundance in throat swab samples of R. norvegicus, followed by Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. In throat swab specimens of S. murinus, Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum, followed by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Firmicutes showed the highest relative abundance in faecal specimens of R. norvegicus, followed by Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria had almost equal abundance in faecal specimens of S. murinus, with Bacteroidetes accounting for only 3.07%. The family Streptococcaceae was most common in throat swab samples of R. norvegicus, while Prevotellaceae was most common in its faecal samples. Pseudomonadaceae was the predominant family in throat swab samples of S. murinus, while Enterobacteriaceae was most common in faecal samples. We annotated 33.28% sequences from faecal samples of S. murinus as potential human pathogenic bacteria, approximately 3.06-fold those in R. norvegicus. Potential pathogenic bacteria annotated in throat swab samples of S. murinus were 1.35-fold those in R. norvegicus. Conclusions Bacterial composition of throat swabs and faecal samples from R. norvegicus differed from those of S. murinus. Both species carried various pathogenic bacteria, therefore both should be closely monitored in the future, especially for S. murinus.

Influence of warm acupuncture on gut microbiota and metabolites in rats with insomnia induced by PCPA

“…The present experiment further analyzed gut microbiota composition and diversity based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most dominant bacterial phylum, which is consistent with the previous reports [ 26 ]. At the genus level, a drastic decrease in the relative abundance of the genera Lactobacillus and Clostridium sensu stricto were detected in insomnia rats when compared with the controls.…”

Molecular surveillance of zoonotic bacterial pathogens in farm dwelling peridomestic rodents across the upper Midwest, USA

“…However, in our study, none of the fecal samples were positive for Bartonella, Leptospira, Yersinia pestis, Streptobacillus moniliformis and Spirillum minus. Similar findings were reported by He et al, 2020 investigating fecal and throat microbiota of Norway rats (R. norvegicus) and Asian house shrews (S. murinus) [75]. Hence, results from our study indicate that these infectious pathogens might not be shed in feces of the rodents, thus not detected in our study because of the sample type.…”

“…On the other hand, Klebsiella was the most prominent genus in shrew feces followed by Salmonella , Serratia and Erwinia . Whereas, Clostridium was the most abundant genus in the Asian house shrew ( Suncus murinus ) [75]. This might be explained by geographical location, habitat, feed, shrew species variation and limited sample size.…”

Comparing Impacts of Different Bowel Cleansing Agents and Oral Probiotics After Cleansing On Symptom and Microbiota: a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Although the microbiota composition is quickly restored, a few taxa were observed to be affected in the relative abundance on the rst day after bowel preparation. These taxa increased in PEG group included Holdemanella and Blautia that producing short-chain fatty acids, Lactobacillus_reuteri [28] (probiotics) producing antimicrobial molecules, and Fusobacterium_mortiferum [29] (opportunistic pathogen), etc.…”