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Diversity of the Formyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase (FTHFS) Gene in the Proximal and Mid Ostrich Colon

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Abstract

We analysed fragments of the formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) gene, which encodes a key enzyme in reductive acetogenesis, from the bacterial flora in the proximal (PC) and mid (MC) colon of three ostriches to assess and compare bacterial diversity in this organ. Two clone libraries of FTHFS fragments were constructed from DNA extracted from digesta of the PC and MC, and a total of 46 cloned sequences were analysed from each library. A wide variety of FTHFS sequences were recovered. The coverage of the PC and MC libraries was 90.0% and 83.3%, respectively. Shannon–Wiener index (H’) and Chao1 of the MC library were higher than those of PC library. The sequences from each library were classified into 15 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and clusters. Only four OTUs in cluster I were distantly related to known acetogens from human feces and rumen, suggesting the presence of the novel acetogens. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that composition of FTHFS sequences differs for the PC and MC.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professor Kazunari Ushida and his colleagues (Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan) for their instruction on DNA extraction. Funding for this study was provided by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (17380157). Nucleotide sequencing was carried out at Life Science Research Center (Center for Molecular Biology and Genetics), Mie University (Tsu, Japan).

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  1. Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University, 1557 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan

    Hiroki Matsui, Saori Yoneda, Tomomi Ban-Tokuda & Masaaki Wakita

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  1. Hiroki Matsui
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  2. Saori Yoneda
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  3. Tomomi Ban-Tokuda
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  4. Masaaki Wakita
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Correspondence to Hiroki Matsui.

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Matsui, H., Yoneda, S., Ban-Tokuda, T. et al. Diversity of the Formyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase (FTHFS) Gene in the Proximal and Mid Ostrich Colon. Curr Microbiol 62, 1–6 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-010-9661-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-010-9661-y

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