The intestinal microbiota of a Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus): possible relationships with starvation raised by macro-plastic ingestion.

Ingesting marine plastics is increasingly common in cetaceans, but little is known about their potential effects. Here, by utilizing 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we profiled the intestinal bacterial communities of a stranded Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) which died because of the ingestion of rubber gloves. In this study, we explored the potential relationships between starvation raised by plastic ingestion with the dolphin gut microbiota.

The intestinal microbiome of an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) stranded near the Pearl River Estuary, China.

The mammalian intestinal microbiome is critical for host health and disease resistance. However, the cetacean intestinal microbiota remains relatively unexplored. By using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we analyzed intestinal bacterial samples from an Indo-pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) stranded near the Pearl River Estuary in China.