INTRODUCTION
The strategy of correcting the composition of the gut microbiota demonstrates significant prospects for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. There is a confirmed link between the state of the colon microbiota and human pathologies. Monkeys, rhesus macaques, are recognized as the best animal model for studying the mechanisms affecting the development of acute and chronic inflammation. The similarity of key anatomical and physiological systems in macaques and humans provides significant advantages in conducting biomedical research on these animals to assess the safety and effectiveness of the developed microbial medicines for medical purposes proposed for the normalization of intestinal microbiocenosis.
OBJECTIVE
Analysis of the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiota of rhesus monkeys of various ages kept in captivity.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study included 17 faecal samples taken from clinically healthy rhesus monkeys specimens kept in captivity. DNA was isolated from faecal samples using the MagMax Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit. The samples were analyzed by metagenomic sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Analysis of 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing data showed that the gut microbiota of rhesus macaques is dominated by bacteria of the departments Firmicutes, Bacteriodetes and Actinobacteriota and their ratio varies in different age groups, which are also dominant in humans. With age, there was a decrease in the representation of Actinobacteriota and the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteriodetes. The alpha diversity of the gut microbiota of different age groups of rhesus macaques did not differ statistically, at the same time, the highest absolute values of alpha diversity were observed in the group of young individuals. The analysis of the differential representation showed that the gut microbiota of young individuals is enriched with butyrate-producing bacteria, which indicates the absence of violations of the state of local intestinal immunity. Older individuals show an increased representation of Streptococcus and Lachnospiraceae, which can be interpreted as markers of inflammation, reflecting the age-related features of the gutmicrobiota of monkeys.
CONCLUSION
The gut microbiota of rhesus monkeys varies in different age groups, while variations within the groups of cubs and young are less than in the group of old ones.
The results of the sequencing of the gut microbiota of monkeys, which demonstrated the similarity of its composition with the human gut microbiota, combined with the peculiarities of age-related changes in the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiota of rhesus monkeys, which to a certain extent can be used as a model age dynamics of the human gut microbiota, are promising for age-related studies of various substances, compositions and other factors affecting the human body, potentially capable of positively or negatively affecting its microbiota.
