Gut microbiota of the European Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus).

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract due to changes in the bacterial flora have been described with increasing incidence in the European brown hare. Despite extensive demographic and phylogeographic research, little is known about the composition of its gut microbiota and how it might vary based on potential environmental or host factors. We analysed the intestinal and faecal microbiota of 3 hare populations by Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The phyla and OTU abundance composition differed significantly between intestinal and faecal samples (PERMANOVA: P = 0.002 and P = 0.031, respectively), but in both sample types Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes dominated the microbial community composition (45.51% and 19.30% relative abundance). Intestinal samples contained an enrichment of Proteobacteria compared with faecal samples (15.71-fold change, P < 0.001). At OTU level, a significant enrichment with best BLAST hits to the Escherichia-Shigella group, Eubacterium limosum, Sphingomonas kyeonggiensis, Flintibacter butyricus and Blautia faecis were detected in intestinal samples (P < 0.05). In our statistical model, geographic location and possibly associated environmental factors had a greater impact on the microbiota composition than host factors. Population had a significant effect on the composition of abundant intestinal and faecal OTUs, and on the abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae, regularly associated with intestinal dysbiosis in hares, in faecal samples. Our study is the first to describe the microbiota in brown hares and provides a foundation to generate hypothesis aiming to test the role of gut health in population fluctuations of the species.

Immunoblotting for the serodiagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis in alive and dead Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber).

A novel species-specific anti-beaver-IgG-alkaline-phosphatase conjugate was synthesized for the development of a new serological test for echinococcosis in beavers. Two different ELISAs conventionally used for human Echinococcus multilocularis serology (Em18-ELISA and Em2-ELISA) yielded diagnostic sensitivities of 0% and 46%, respectively. In contrast, the subsequently developed immunoblotting assay gave an 85% diagnostic sensitivity (11 out of 13 beavers with alveolar echinococcosis were immunoblotting-positive, i.e. showed reactivity with a specific 21 Mr band), and maximal specificity. In conclusion, this immunoblotting assay should be the method of choice for use in serological studies on E. multilocularis in Eurasian beavers, and the test proved suitable to investigate both animals alive and post-mortem.