1Department of Applied Animal Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Raebareli Road, Lucknow-226 025, Uttar Pradesh
2Department of Zoology, Directorate of Distance Education, Alagappa University, Karaikudi-630 003, Tamil Nadu
3Deparment of Animal Behaviour and Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai-625 021, Tamil Nadu
*e-mail: elango70@yahoo.com
In this study, we isolated and characterized the gut microflora of insectivorous bats such as Rhinopoma hardwickii, Megaderma lyra and Hipposiderous fulvus. Chitinase producing bacteria were isolated using nutrient agar, Macconkey agar and blood agar which contain chitin. A total of 23 bacterial colonies of bacteria were isolated from the gut samples of R. hardwickii, M. lyra and H. fulvus. Among the 23 isolates, seven isolates have been identified as chitinase positive. These seven isolates showed positive results for characterized biochemical tests, Chitin Overlay Assay and PCR based chitinase gene (Chi A) methods. Five isolates identified as Gram negative belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae. The bacterial isolates which have symbiotic relationships with R. hardwickii, M. lyra and H. fulvus found to be Bacillus sp., Citrobacter sp. and Enterobacter sp. These bacteria help in digestion of chitin component in the diets of R. hardwickii, M. lyra and H. fulvus.
Bacillus sp, chitin, Citrobacter sp, Enterobacter sp, Hipposiderous fulvus, Megaderma lyra
