Comparative microbial diversity in the gastrointestinal tracts of food animal species

Molecular tools based on small subunit (SSU) rDNA gene sequencesoffer a powerful and rapid tool for the analysis of complexmicrobial communities found in the gastrointestinal tracts (GIT)of food animal species. Extensive comparative sequence analysisof SSU rRNA molecules representing a wide diversity of organismsshows that different regions of the molecule vary in sequenceconservation. Oligonucleotides complementing regions of universallyconversed SSU rRNA sequences are used as universal probes, whilethose complementing more variable regions of sequence are usefulas selective probes targeting species, genus, or phylogeneticgroups. Different approaches derive different information andthis is highly dependent on the type of target nucleic acidemployed and the conceptual and technical basis used for nucleicacid probe design. Generally these approaches can be dividedinto DNA-based methods employing empirically characterized probesand rRNA-based methods based on comparative sequence analysisfor design and interpretation of "rational" probes. Polymerasechain reaction (PCR) based techniques can also be applied tothe analysis of microbial communities in the GIT. Direct cloningof SSU rDNA genes amplified from these complex communities canbe used to determine the extent of diversity in these GIT communities.Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) is another powerfultool for profiling microbial diversity of microbial communitiesin GI tracts. Sequence analysis of the excised DGGE ampliconscan then be used to presumptively identify predominant bacterialspecies. Examples of how these molecular approaches are beingused to study the microbial diversity of communities from steersfed different diets, swine fed probiotics, and Atlantic salmonfed aquaculture diets are presented.