| Canidae, as the most widely distributed taxa in Carnivora, is inextricably linked to our life. Among the studies on canine animals, the researches of digestive physiology play a very important role, and the study on the digestive tract microbial communities is becoming a much hotter topic in recent years. Although the microbial communities in the different segments of the intestinal tract of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) have been good characterized in domestic and foreign, to our knowledge, no traditional culture-dependent methods has assessed the composition and diversity of the microbial communities in the intestinal tracts of wild carnivore species(Canis lupus, Vulpes vulpes, Vulpes corsac, Nyctereutes procyonoides, Cuon alpinus). Therefore, the first purpose of the present study is to characterize the microbial composition and diversity in the distal gut of a group of five healthy unrelated adult animals by using traditional culture-dependent methods. Comparative with the flora of intestinal in dogs have been reported, the conclusion reveals that the composition and diversity, community structure and microecological balance of the fecal flora of five carnivore species. The results have accumulated basic data for research the flora of intestinal in carnivore, and provided scientific basis for research microecology environment and disease in intestinal tract of carnivores.Gram-positive spore bacilli, gram-positive having no spore bacilli, gram-positive coccobacteria, gram-negative coccobacteria and gram-negative bacilli were first identified through microscopic observation and then formal identification tests were carried out, including oxygen needing, methyl red and Acetyl methyl methanol test, catalase, gelatin liquefaction, KNO3 reduction, indole, fermentation of saccharides and mellows, sodium citrate and NaCl-phily and so on. Based on the results of these physiological and biochemical tests, along with the morphological description, species from approximately 19-21 genera were identified in the feces. The number of genera in the feces was 22 in Canis lupus,19 in Cuon alpinus,21 in Nyctereutes procyonoides,21 in Vulpes corsac and 19 in Vulpes vulpes, as well as some unidentified strains.Although, some strains were endemic to the carnivore gut, there were some differences in the community among individuals and species. The carnivore fecal flora comprised 1010-1011 colony forming units/g of feces (wet weight). The amount of bacteria reached 1.442×1011cfu/g in Canis lupus,8.330×1010cfu/g in Vulpes vulpes,8.170×1010cfu/g in Vulpes corsac,8.620×1010cfu/g in Nyctereutes procyonoides and 1.485×1011cfu/g in Cuon alpinus. The amount of bacteria was significantly different among species (P<0.05) but not among different individuals of the same species (Canis lupus:P=0.19; Vulpes vulpes:P=0.898; Vulpes corsac:P=0.315; Nyctereutes procyonoides:P=0.074; Cuon alpinus:P=0.197). It is no obvious difference in the amount of bacteria between Canis lupus and Cuon alpinus, between Vulpes vulpes, Vulpes corsac and Nyctereutes procyonoides, but it has obvious differences between Canis lupus, Cuon alpinus and Vulpes vulpes, Vulpes corsac, Nyctereutes procyonoides.The percentage of shared species among different carnivores was 65-80%, with the highest percentage between Vulpes vulpes and Vulpes corsac, and the lowest between Canis lupus and Cuon alpinus. Although the proportion of shared species between Vulpes vulpes and Cuon alpinus was 78.95%, the amount of bacteria was markedly different. There was no correlation between the amount and the diversity of bacteria. The most common microbes were Escherichia, Enterobacter, Streptococcus, Proteus, Enterococcus and Lactobacillus. Of these, Escherichia and Enterobacter can be considered as beneficial strains and they were found in all the carnivores. Our findings suggest that, despite some differences, there is high similarity in the dominant fecal bacteria of different carnivores. |
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