biostudies-literatureNeumann APNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNIAID NIH HHSUniversiteit StellenboschNational Institutes of Health3768-3783https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC5599356biostudies-literatureUnknown19(9)The genus Fibrobacter contains cellulolytic bacteria originally isolated from the rumen. Culture-independent investigations have since identified Fibrobacter populations in the gastrointestinal tracts of numerous hindgut-fermenting herbivores, but their physiology is poorly characterized due to few representative axenic cultures. To test the hypothesis that novel Fibrobacter diversity exists in hindgut fermenters, we performed culturing and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on samples collected from phylogenetically diverse herbivorous hosts. Using a unique approach for recovering axenic Fibrobacter cultures, we isolated 45 novel strains from 11 different hosts. Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing of these isolates identified nine discrete phylotypes (cutoff = 0.03%) among them, includingEnvironmental microbiologyFibrobacter communities in the gastrointestinal tracts of diverse hindgut-fermenting herbivores are distinct from those of the rumen.PMC5599356T32AI55397T32 AI055397DE‐SC0008104Suen GMcCormick CANeumann APfalseFibrobacter communities in the gastrointestinal tracts of diverse hindgut-fermenting herbivores are distinct from those of the rumen.The genus Fibrobacter contains cellulolytic bacteria originally isolated from the rumen. Culture-independent investigations have since identified Fibrobacter populations in the gastrointestinal tracts of numerous hindgut-fermenting herbivores, but their physiology is poorly characterized due to few representative axenic cultures. To test the hypothesis that novel Fibrobacter diversity exists in hindgut fermenters, we performed culturing and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on samples collected from phylogenetically diverse herbivorous hosts. Using a unique approach for recovering axenic Fibrobacter cultures, we isolated 45 novel strains from 11 different hosts. Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing of these isolates identified nine discrete phylotypes (cutoff = 0.03%) among them, including2017-01-01T00:00:00Z2017 Sep2026-05-04T16:13:06.163Z2019-03-26T23:53:51ZS-EPMC55993562875295510.1111/1462-2920.13878