Lactobacillus hayakitensis, L. equigenerosi and L. equi, predominant lactobacilli in the intestinal flora of healthy thoroughbreds

To detect the predominant lactobacilli in the intestinal flora of healthy thoroughbreds, we isolated lactobacilli from the feces of nine thoroughbreds (five males and four females; 0-15-year-old). The isolated lactobacilli comprise 17 species (37 strains), and they were classified into five groups: Lactobacillus salivarius (6 species), L. reuteri (6 species), Lactobacillus delbrueckii (3 species), L. buchneri (1 species) and L. vitulinus (1 species). On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, we identified 3 other phylogenetic relatives belonging to the genus Lactobacillus. These results suggest that the intestinal flora of thoroughbreds may comprise many species of the genus Lactobacillus. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analyses of the 340-bp fragments of the 16S rRNA genes from the same nine fecal samples showed that L. hayakitensis, L. equigenerosi and L. equi are contained in all the samples, suggesting that these species are predominant lactobacilli in the intestinal flora of thoroughbreds.