Abstract:
To reveal the effects of gut bacteria on the digestion, metabolism and other physiological functions of Hirudinaria manillensis and to provide the theoretical foundation for the aquaculture and medicinal purposes on leeches, this paper demonstrates the community structure and functions of gut bacteria of Hirudinaria manillensis using the next-generation sequencing technique. Forty OTUs were identified, which belong to 36 genera, 29 families, 24 orders, 16 classes and 7 phylums. Among the three samples, the dominant genera were Chromobacterium, Methylovorus and Jonquetella. The functions of these gut bacteria were further predicted using the software PICRUSt. The results showed that the dominent functional category was the membrane transport, followed by the carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, cell motility, energy metabolism, DNA replication and repair, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, xenobiotics biodegradation metabolism, cellular processes and signaling.
