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Horie et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2024;3:35 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2024.08 Page 7 of 12

Figure 1. PCoA of the fecal flora of zoo animals. The results of the weighted mean PCoA by genealogical relationship and read number of
determined bacteria. PCoA: Principal Coordinate Analysis.

In the case of small-clawed otters, Fusobacteriaceae was less prevalent while Enterobacteriaceae was more
abundant. At the genus level, Collinsella, Paeniclostridium, and Fusobacterium were more abundant in
carnivores, whereas herbivores exhibited varied bacterial proportions. Piscivores, excluding the small-
clawed otter, showed relatively high levels of Bacteroides and Fusobacterium, while Plesiomonas was more
abundant in small-clawed otters. The fecal flora of animals generally exhibited similar patterns depending
on their feeding habits. However, there were some exceptions. For instance, in sun bears, the proportions of
Lactobacillaceae and Streptococcaceae were notably higher, accounting for approximately 80% each. The
fecal flora of dolphins tended to differ from those of other animals, and the families Colwelliaceae (10.6%),
Flavobacteriaceae (8.2%), and Alcaligenaceae (13.6%) were abundant in these animals. Among omnivorous
animals, the fecal flora of Asian black bears and Japanese badgers was relatively similar to that of carnivores,
while the fecal flora of raccoon dogs resembled that of herbivores. Although the Lactobacillaceae bacteria
could be isolated by culture method from the feces of both carnivorous and herbivorous animals, 16S
amplicon sequence analysis revealed a low proportion, except in the case of the sun bear. Turicibacter was
found to be relatively abundant in giraffe, Asian black bear, and Japanese badger flora, with proportions of
3.9%, 6.9%, and 26.9%, respectively.