“…Although this analytic strategy excluded taxonomic units identified to only phylum, class, or order level, the diversity estimated via the Shannon Index was comparable to earlier data from this species [ 15 , 18 ]. As in other studies from rodents and primates [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ], Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant phyla, although the relative amount of Bacteroidetes was lower in the hamsters of the present study [ 12 , 14 , 18 , 19 ]. Furthermore, the Ulm hamsters’ microbiome contained a similar amount of Proteobacteria when compared to other Djungarian hamsters and other rodents, ranging from 2 to 10% [ 12 , 14 , 18 , 20 , 21 , 24 , 25 ].…”