Abstract
Microbiota in the kangaroo gut degrade cellulose, contributing to the kangaroo’s energy and survival. In this preliminary study, to discover more about the gut microbes that contribute to the survival of kangaroos, cellulose-degrading bacteria were isolated from kangaroo scats by selection on solidified media containing carboxymethyl cellulose as the main carbon source. One frequently occurring aerobic bacterium was Siccibacter turicensis, a microbe previously isolated in fruit powder and from a patient with angular cheilitis. The whole genome sequence of the kangaroo isolate was obtained using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Its sequence shared 97.98% identity of the S. turicensis Type strain, and the ability of the Type strain to degrade cellulose was confirmed. Analysis of the genomic data focused on the cellulose operon. In addition to genes from the operon, we suggest that a gene following the operon may have an important role in regulating cellulose metabolism by signal transduction. This is the first report of S. turicensis found within microbiota of the animal gut. Because of its frequent presence in the kangaroo gut, we suggest that S. turicensis plays a role in cellulose digestion for kangaroos.
Highlights
Animals are devoid of enzymes capable of degrading cellulose, intestinal microbiota perform the task of enabling access to nutrients and energy sources that would be otherwise unavailable [1]
Scats were homogenised in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and aliquots of the suspensions were plated onto nutrient agar and solidified media containing carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to find microbes capable of cellulose utilization
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (Bruker Biotyper) analysis of freshly grown isolates revealed that close similarity to Siccibacter colletis: Siccibacter turicensis was not in the database that came with the biotyper
Summary
Animals are devoid of enzymes capable of degrading cellulose, intestinal microbiota perform the task of enabling access to nutrients and energy sources that would be otherwise unavailable [1]. The microbes capable of performing this task are currently uncharacterised, metagenomics studies provide information on many of the microbes that are present and significant clues on what their roles may be. Recent studies have shown the effects of cellulases, obtained from the Bacillus subtilis strain BY3, as an antibacterial agent and for biofuel production from agricultural wastes [3]. Acinetobacter spp. are established as effective degraders of similar cellulosic wastes for the production of bioethanol, which may have a crucial role in fulfilling current and future energy demands [4]. Diverse types of fungi and bacteria have been found to produce the enzymes for degradation of the cellulose that can provide renewable energy [4,8,9,10,11]
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