COMPARISON OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA COMPOSITION BETWEEN WILD AND CAPTIVE BLACK CAPUCHIN MONKEYS (Sapajus nigritus) IN BRAZIL BY HIGH- THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING.

Brazil is part os the megadiversity countries, considered one of the most important place for primate conservation. Black Capuchin Monkeys (Sapejus nigritus) is listed as near threatened due to an ongoing decline. Considered the most intelligent Neotropical primate, is common to invade homes and agricultural areas in search of food, as many people encourage this behavior by feeding these animals in free life. Here, we capitalize on the remarkable dietary of non-human primates (S. nigritus) to understand the effect of host dietary niche on the composition and function of the gut microbiota. We used 16S Metagenomics Illumina MiSeq system to analyze fecal and feces samples from wild and captive black capuchin monkeys from four different locations in Brazil: Two forest fragments (Sao Sebastiao do Cai (RS) and Santa Cruz do Sul (RS)); and two zoos (zoo in Sapucaia do Sul ciry (RS) and zoo in Cachoeira do Sul city (RS)). DNA from rectal swabs and feces samples was extracted using QIAmp Fast DNA Stool Mini Kit and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified with the primers 512F and 806R. Bacterial communities will be analyzed from the generated sequences. To identify and exclude hidden chimeras in 16S rDNA sequences, DECIPHER'S Find Chimeras will be used. For the taxonomic classification of sequenced regions, the Ribossomal Database Project (RDP) tool will be used, with a sequence similarity threshold of 97%. In order to verify if the microbiological and genetic diversity of the microbial communities of the sample sets are statistically different, a UniFrac distance coordinate plot will be used. And to measure the distance between the samples in relation to their similarity or dissimilarity, Bray-Curtis will be used in order to draw a comparison between them. From these results, it is expected to compare the microorganisms found in the microbiota in relation to the location of collection and proximity of animals with humans and to evaluate the role of microorganisms in the health of primates, evolution, behavior and conservation.