Abstract
Summary The molecular diversity of the foregut bacterial community in the dromedary camel ( Camelus dromedarius ) in Central Australia was investigated through comparative analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences prepared from the foregut contents of 12 adult feral camels fed on native vegetation. A total of 267 full‐length 16S rRNA gene clones were examined, with 151 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified at a 99% species‐level identity cut‐off criterion. The prediction of actual diversity in the foregut of the dromedary camel using the Chaol approach was 238 OTUs, while the richness and evenness of the diversity estimated using Shannon index was 4.84. The majority of bacteria in the current study were affiliated with the bacterial phylum Firmicutes (67% of total clones) and were related to the classes Clostridia, Bacilli and Mollicutes, followed by the Bacteroidetes (25%) that were mostly represented by the family Prevotellaceae. The remaining phyla were represented by Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Cynophyta, Lentisphaerae, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria and Sphirochaetes. Moreover, 11 clones of cultivated bacteria were identified as Brevundimonas sp., Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens , Prevotella sp. and Ruminococcus flavefaciens . The novelty in this foregut environment is remarkable where 97% of the OTUs were distantly related to any known sequence in the public database.