Adrienne L Jones, Carrie J Pratt, Casey H Meili, Rochelle M Soo, Philip Hugenholtz, Mostafa S Elshahed, Noha H Youssef
The anaerobic gut fungi (AGF) inhabit the alimentary tracts of herbivores. In contrast to placental mammals, information regarding the identity, diversity, and community structure of AGF in marsupials is extremely sparse. Here, we characterized AGF communities in 61 fecal samples from 10 marsupial species belonging to four families in the order Diprotodontia: Vombatidae (wombats), Phascolarctidae (koalas), Phalangeridae (possums), and Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies, and pademelons). An amplicon-based diversity survey using the D2 region of the large ribosomal subunit as a phylogenetic marker indicated that marsupial AGF communities were dominated by eight genera commonly encountered in placental herbivores ( Neocallimastix , Caecomyces , Cyllamyces , Anaeromyces , Orpinomyces , Piromyces , Pecoramyces , and Khoyollomyces )...
January 23, 2024: MBio