Phylogenetic analysis of the fecal microbial community in herbivorous land and marine iguanas of the Galapagos Islands using 16S rRNA-based pyrosequencing.

ABSTRACT: Herbivorous reptiles depend on complex gut microbial communities to effectively degrade dietary polysaccharides. The composition of these fermentative communities may vary based on dietary differences. To explore the role of diet in shaping gut microbial communities, we evaluated the fecal samples from two related host species--the algae-consuming marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) and land iguanas (LI) (genus Conolophus) that consume terrestrial vegetation. Marine and LI fecal samples were collected from different islands in the Galápagos archipelago. High-throughput 16S rRNA-based pyrosequencing was used to provide a comparative analysis of fecal microbial diversity. At the phylum level, the fecal microbial community in iguanas was predominated by Firmicutes (69.5±7.9%) and Bacteroi

SUBMITTER: Hong PY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3160690 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature