Characterization of gut microbiome in a captive colony of marmosets

Although the microbiome signatures in primates are more similar to humans in comparison to microbiome of mice and rats, the study of microbiome in primate models and particularly in non-human primates such as the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) are sparse. In this study, we analyse the diversity and the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiome of the 13 members of a captive colony of common marmosets located in an experimental facility by high-throughput 16S-rRNA gene sequencing. The gut microbiome of the marmosets displayed a complex phylogenetical and taxonomical composition, though similar among the members of the colony. Bacteria of the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria and Actinobacteria dominated the baseline microbiota. At family rank Prevotellaceae and Paraprevotellaceae dominate most of the samples, whereas Bacteroidaceae and Enterobacteriaceae were more abundant in some samples. Other families such as Bifidobacteriaceae, Fusobacteriaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, Helicobacteriaceae and Clostridiaceae were recorded in smaller percentages. At genus level, the Prevotella genus was the most abundant in ten of the 13 samples, whereas Bacteroides and an Enterobacteriaceae genus were the most abundant in the remaining samples. These results supplement and enrich the current knowledge on marmosets gut microbiome as a model for microbiome studies.