Abstract
BackgroundA variety of microbial communities exist throughout the human and animal body. Genetics, environmental factors and long-term dietary habit contribute to shaping the composition of the gut microbiota. For this reason the study of the gut microbiota of a mammal exhibiting an extraordinary life span is of great importance. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial mammal known for its longevity and cancer resistance.MethodsHere we analyzed its gut microbiota by cultivating the bacteria under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and identifying their species by mass spectrometry.ResultsAltogether, 29 species of microbes were identified, predominantly belonging to Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. The most frequent species were Bacillus megaterium (45.2 %), followed by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (19.4 %), Bacteroides ovatus, Staphylococcus sciuri and Paenibacillus spp., each with a frequency of 16.1 %.ConclusionOverall, the gut of the naked mole-rat is colonized by diverse, but low numbers of cultivable microbes compared with humans and mice. The primary food plants of the rodents are rich in polyphenols and related compounds, possessing anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative as well as anti-cancer activity which may contribute to their exceptionally healthy life.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13099-016-0107-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
A variety of microbial communities exist throughout the human and animal body
Function, and distribution of the microbiota in relation to diet, environment, genetic factors, and host immunity will help to elucidate the pivotal role of the microbiota in health and pathogenesis of diseases
Frequency of microbes isolated from wild naked mole‐rats In the present study, we identified the composition of gut microbes of the naked mole-rat (Table 1)
Summary
A variety of microbial communities exist throughout the human and animal body. Genetics, environmental factors and long-term dietary habit contribute to shaping the composition of the gut microbiota. Recent studies have concluded that the composition and function of microbiota play a significant role in autoimmunity and immune regulation, development of cancer, Crohn’s disease, obesity, and type 1 and 2 diabetes [4,5,6,7]. This causal relationship came currently in the focus of scientific interest. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial mammalian species that lives in colonies of up to 300 individuals For this mouse-sized subterranean rodent a life span of about 30 years has been reported for both, reproductive and non-reproductive castes. The recent report of two cases of cancer in zoo-housed naked mole-rats may not alter
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