Definition
Metagenomics is the study of metagenome, a composite of the animal genes and genes present in the genomes of microorganisms colonizing their bodies. More narrow definition of the term metagenome is limited to genomes of only microbial community (microbiome).
Introduction
The subject of this entry is to outline the information available on the composition of the gut microbiomes of two extinct herbivorous animals – woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). The microbiome of an intestinal tract plays important role in the animal nutrition and overall health. In particular, herbivores have evolved to maintain microbial consortia that coordinate relatively rapid rates of degradation of complex plant carbohydrates under anaerobic conditions (Flint 1997). The coevolution of herbivorous mammalian lineages and their gut microbes involved enlargement of the foregut or hindgut to...
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Ravin, N.V., Prokhortchouk, E.B., Skryabin, K.G. (2013). Mammoth and Woolly Rhinoceros, Metagenomics of. In: Nelson, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metagenomics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_744-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6418-1_744-3
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