Aims: The aims of this study were to evaluate the host-specific distribution of Bacteroidales 16S rRNA gene sequences from human- and animal-related effluents and faeces, and to define a ruminant-specific marker. Methods and Results: Bacteroidales 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed from samples of effluent (sewage, bovine manure and pig slurry) and faeces (human, bovine, pig and wild bird), using PCR primers targeting order Bacteroidales. The phylogenetic analysis revealed six main distinct human-, bovine-, pig- and wild bird-specific clusters. From the bovine-specific cluster II, we designed a ruminant-specific marker, Rum-2-Bac, and this showed 97% sensitivity (n = 30) and 100% specificity (n = 40) when tested by TaqMan (R) real-time PCR.... |