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Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the national symbol of Thailand and linked to Thai history and culture for centuries. The elephant welfare improvement is one of the major components to achieve sustainable captive management. Microbiome inhabiting digestive tracts have been shown with symbiotic relations to host health. This work provided high-resolution microbiome profiles of 32 captive elephants at a species level by utilizing full-length 16S rRNA gene nanopore sequencing. Eleven common uncultured bacterial species were found across elephants fed with solid food including uncultured bacterium Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, Kiritimatiellae WCHB1-41, Phascolarctobacterium, Oscillospiraceae NK4A214 group, Christensenellaceae R-7 group, Oribacterium, Oscillospirales UCG-010, Lachnospiraceae, Bacteroidales F082, uncultured rumen Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, and Lachnospiraceae AC2044 group. We observed microbiome shifts along the age classes of baby (0–2 years), juvenile (2–10 years), and adult (> 10 years). Interestingly, we found distinct microbiome profiles among adult elephants fed with a local palm, Caryota urens, as a supplement. Potential beneficial microbes have been revealed according to the age classes and feed diets. The retrieved microbiome data could be provided as good baseline microbial profiles for monitoring elephant health, suggesting further studies towards dietary selection suitable for each age class and the use of local supplementary diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike malaria parasites in humans, non-human primates, rodents, and birds, ungulate malaria parasites and their vectors have received little attention. As a result, understanding of the hosts, vectors, and biology of ungulate malaria parasites has remained limited. In this study, we aimed to identify the vectors of the goat malaria parasite Plasmodium caprae. A total of 1019 anopheline and 133 non-anopheline mosquitoes were collected from goat farms in Thailand, where P. caprae-infected goats were discovered. Anopheline mosquitoes were identified using molecular biological methods that target the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2 (cox2) genes, and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Pool and individual mosquitoes were tested for P. caprae using the head-thorax parts that contain the salivary glands, with primers targeting three genetic markers including cytochrome b, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, and 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA genes. Additionally, goat blood samples were collected concurrently with mosquito surveys and screened to determine the status of malaria infection. This study revealed nine mosquito species belonging to six groups on goat farms, including Hyrcanus, Barbirostris, Subpictus, Funestus, Tessellatus, and Annularis. The DNA of P. caprae was detected in Anopheles subpictus and Anopheles aconitus. This is the first time An. subpictus and An. aconitus have been implicated as probable vectors of P. caprae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]