Rat rectal microbiome profiling by 16S rRNA gene sequencing

This study investigates the bacterial community composition of rat rectal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Rectal swab samples were collected, preserved in bacterial holding solution, and subjected to genomic DNA extraction using a fecal DNA extraction kit. The V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified with primers 515F and 806R, followed by high-throughput sequencing on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. Bioinformatics analysis included quality control with Qiime II and Trimmomatic, alpha diversity (Shannon, Simpson, Chao1), beta diversity (PCoA), and taxonomic classification based on the NT-16S database. Statistical comparisons between groups were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The data aim to characterize microbial diversity and identify potential taxonomic differences across experimental conditions.