Gut phageome of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) reveals greater diversity than relative species.

ABSTRACT: The gut flora is a treasure house of diverse bacteriophages maintaining a harmonious and coexistent relationship with their hosts. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), as a vulnerable endemic species in China, has existed for millions of years and is regarded as a flagship species for biodiversity conservation. And yet, limited studies have analyzed the phage communities in the gut of giant pandas. Using viral metagenomic analysis, the phageomes of giant pandas and other relative species were investigated. Our study explored and compared the composition of phage communities from different animal sources. Giant pandas possessed more diverse and abundant phage communities in the gut compared with other relevant animals. Phylogenetic analyses based on the phage terminase large sub

SUBMITTER: Lu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10308893 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature