Amplicon-based gut microbiome profiling of lemurs in Japanese zoos

This project investigates the gut microbiota of lemurs housed in zoos across Japan using 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Fecal samples were collected non-invasively from multiple lemur species in different zoological institutions. DNA was extracted and subjected to PCR amplification targeting bacterial 16S rRNA gene (V1-V2 region) and eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene (V4-V5 region), followed by high-throughput sequencing. The goal of this study is to profile both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities and to explore host-microbe interactions in relation to environmental and species-specific factors in captive lemurs.