Molecular analysis of methanogenic archaea in the forestomach of the alpaca (Vicugna pacos).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Methanogens that populate the gastrointestinal tract of livestock ruminants contribute significantly to methane emissions from the agriculture industry. There is a great need to analyze archaeal microbiomes from a broad range of host species in order to establish causal relationships between the structure of methanogen communities and their potential for methane emission. In this report, we present an investigation of methanogenic archaeal populations in the foregut of alpacas.

Results

We constructed individual 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from five sampled animals and recovered a total of 947 sequences which were assigned to 51 species-level OTUs. Individuals were found to each have between 21 and 27 OTUs, of which two to six OTUs were unique. As reported in oth

SUBMITTER: St-Pierre B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3292460 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature