Studies of the digestive microbiota of ruminant animals most often focus on the bacterial diversity in the rumen or the feces of the animals, but little is known about the diversity and functions of their distal intestine. Here, the bacterial microbiota of the distal intestinal tract of two goats and two camels was investigated by metagenomics techniques. The bacterial taxonomic diversity and carbohydrate-active enzyme profile were estimated for samples taken from the small intestine, the large intestine, and the rectum of each animal. The bacterial diversity and abundance in the small intestine were lower than in the rectal and large intestinal samples. Analysis of the carbohydrate-active enzyme profiles at each site revealed a comparatively low abundance of enzymes targeting xylan and cellulose in all animals examined, similar to what has been reported earlier for sheep and therefore suggesting that plant cell wall digestion probably takes place elsewhere, such as in the rumen.

中文翻译：

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沿山羊和骆驼肠道的碳水化合物活性酶的宏基因组学研究。

反刍动物消化微生物群的研究通常集中在动物的瘤胃或粪便中的细菌多样性，但对它们的远端肠道的多样性和功能知之甚少。在这里，通过宏基因组学技术研究了两只山羊和两只骆驼的远端肠道细菌群。估计从每只动物的小肠，大肠和直肠中采集的样品的细菌分类学多样性和碳水化合物活性酶谱。小肠的细菌多样性和丰度低于直肠和大肠样本。对每个部位的碳水化合物活性酶图谱进行分析后发现，在所有接受检查的动物中，针对木聚糖和纤维素的酶含量相对较低，