A team led by Brazil’s CNPEM has published a detailed map of the manatee gut microbiome in Nature Microbiology. Using samples from 47 animals, researchers reconstructed more than 6,000 microbial genomes. Over half of the species identified had never been described before.
Among the discoveries is a newly characterized enzyme, epilactase, which shows potential for industrial and biotechnological use. The study was selected for the journal’s cover and highlighted in a Research Briefing.
The work demonstrates how studying large, specialized herbivores can reveal microbial diversity that is still largely unexplored. It also adds to growing evidence that animal microbiomes remain an important source of novel enzymes and metabolic pathways.
