Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) have a hindgut fermentation digestive tract, which uses cellulolytic microbes to break down plant matter in the cecum and proximal colon. Previous studies on bacterial communities of green turtles have not identified in situ hindgut microbiota, and never before in Hawaiian green turtles, which comprise an isolated metapopulation. Fresh samples using sterile swabs were taken from five locations along the gastrointestinal tracts of eight green turtles that had required euthanization. Bacteria were cultured, aerobically and anaerobically, on nutrient agar and four differential and selective media. Samples at three sections along the gastrointestinal tracts of two green turtles were analyzed using 16S metagenomics on an Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine. More than half of the 4 532 104 sequences belonged to the phylum Firmicutes, followed by Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria, which are characteristic of herbivore gut microbiota. Some microbiota variation existed between turtles and among gastrointestinal sections. The 16S sequence analysis provided a better representation of the total gastrointestinal bacterial community, much of which cannot be cultured using traditional microbial techniques. These metagenomic analyses serve as a foundation for a better understanding of the microbiome of green turtles in the Hawaiian Islands and elsewhere.

绿海龟（Chelonia mydas）具有后肠发酵消化道，利用纤维素分解微生物分解盲肠和近端结肠中的植物。先前对绿海龟细菌群落的研究尚未就地鉴定后肠微生物群，以前从未出现在夏威夷绿海龟中，后者由一个孤立的种群组成。使用无菌棉签从需要安乐死的八只绿海龟在胃肠道的五个位置采集新鲜样品。在营养琼脂和四种差异和选择性培养基上对细菌进行有氧和厌氧培养。在离子激流个人基因组仪上使用16S宏基因组学分析了两只绿海龟沿胃肠道的三个部分的样品。在4 532 104个序列中，一半以上属于Firmicutes门，其次是拟杆菌属和Proteobacteria，它们是草食动物肠道菌群的特征。龟之间和胃肠道之间存在一些微生物群变异。16S序列分析可以更好地代表整个胃肠道细菌群落，其中许多细菌无法使用传统的微生物技术进行培养。这些宏基因组学分析为更好地了解夏威夷群岛和其他地方的绿海龟微生物组奠定了基础。