Development of the animal individual identification method using intestinal microbiota

个体识别对野生动物保护和有害动物管理具有重要意义。在生态学和野生动物学领域中，有标记识别法、利用视觉特征的个体识别法，并给出了恒定的结果。然而，有迹象表明，每个人都不能否认问题和不确定因素，并期望个体识别方法更确定，更容易。样本采集注重的是可能的粪便，而不是捕获目标动物，本研究旨在利用粪便中的微生物群（肠道菌群）开发新的个体鉴定方法。通过收集日本动物园32只猩猩的粪便，并进行UniFrac分析，同一个体的肠道微生物群聚集了32只猩猩中的28只，并能够将其与其他个体区分开来。因此，获得了个体可以通过肠道微生物群区分猩猩（动物）的有用结果。研究证实，猩猩的肠道微生物群形成了人类、大熊猫和老鼠的不同集群。

Individual identification is important to wild animal protection and harmful animal management. There were the identification with the mark, the individual identification method by the visual characteristic and gave constant result in the field of ecology and wild zoology. However, there is the indication that each cannot deny problems and an uncertain element, and the individual identification method that it is more certain and easy is expected. Sample collection paid its attention to possible feces without capturing a target animal, and this study aimed at the development of the new individual identification method using the microbiota (intestinal flora) in the feces. As a result of collecting feces of 32 orangutans in Japanese zoological parks, and having done UniFrac analysis, intestinal microbiota of the same individual clustered 28 of 32 orangutans and was able to distinguish it from other individuals. Therefore, the useful result that an individual could distinguish an orangutan (animal) using intestinal microbiota was obtained. It was confirmed that the intestinal microbiota of the orangutan formed different clusters of human, giant panda, and mouse.