Lion feces reveal new microbial species in Namibia
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Researchers studying lions in Etosha National Park, Namibia, discovered hundreds of previously unknown microbial species living in the animals’ guts.
Wits University scientists analyzed fecal samples from 20 lions, reconstructing 318 bacterial and 102 viral genomes. Most of these genomes differed significantly from those already recorded in international databases, indicating new species. Carl Belger, the lead author, noted the lack of prior research on lion gut microbiomes made the project compelling.
The team collected samples while veterinarians immobilized the lions for other ecological research, allowing them to gather data efficiently. They then used extensive computational analysis, requiring thousands of CPU hours and generating terabytes of data, to piece together the genomes from fragmented DNA. This research highlighted a gap in existing genomic databases. When the team incorporated the newly identified microbial genomes into reference data, they reduced the proportion of unclassified DNA from 24.5% to 4.5%.
Scott Hazelhurst, a co-author, explained that the limited research on wild animal microbiomes contrasts with the abundance of data for humans, making identification more challenging. The study also found microbial pathways involved in breaking down purines, common in meat, suggesting a key role for these microbes in lion metabolism. Future research will investigate how these microbiomes vary based on factors like pride, sex, and season.
