Characterization of Bacterial Microbiota in the Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT) of Buffaloes Using PCR-Based Analysis
Characterization of Bacterial Microbiota in the Gastrointestinal Tract (GIT) of Buffaloes Using PCR-Based Analysis
Phoebe Lyndia Tolentino Llantada1,2*, Midori Umekawa2, Shuichi Karita2
ABSTRACT
The microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of ruminants is very important for their immunity and productivity. The efficient digestion and utilization of fibrous feed materials are attributed to the foregut, midgut, and hindgut with the aid of the microorganisms that thrive in this region. However, knowledge and studies on bacterial communities across the GIT are very limited. Most researches only focus on the rumen or the hindgut. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the bacterial microbiota in three gut regions (foregut: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum; midgut: duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and hindgut: cecum, colon, rectum) of two riverine type buffaloes using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method to profile the bacterial community and PCR amplification using species-specific primer sets for 16S rDNA fragments to detect major fibrolytic and non-fibrolytic bacteria. Results from the PCR-DGGE analysis showed differences in bacterial diversity, density, and banding patterns along the gut of buffaloes. Higher bacterial diversity, density, and banding patterns were observed in the foregut and hindgut as compared with the midgut. PCR-DGGE fingerprints further revealed that samples from the foregut and hindgut shared similar banding patterns. Although the midgut was the least diverse segment, there were unique bands that can be further investigated. By using species-specific primers, most fibrolytic bacteria were detected in the foregut and hindgut, whereas most non-fibrolytic bacteria were located in the foregut and midgut. This study provides a preliminary glimpse of the bacterial microbiota profile of dairy buffaloes’ gut in a qualitative and semiquantitative way. Thus, the results of this study can serve as a reference for future researches on gut microbes to better understand their localization, and role in improving livestock production; to come up with a novel mechanism for rumen manipulation and strategies for phenotypic trait improvements.
Keywords | Bacteria, Buffalo, GIT, PCR-DGGE, Species-specific primer
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March 2024
Vol. 12, Iss. 3, pp. 392-585
