Gut bacteria are directly influenced by the diet consumed by
host, thus can provide clues about the feeding behaviour and
dietary habits of host. Moreover the higher diversity is indicative
of good health while lower diversity is often associated with diseased
state (Scott et al., 2015), thus these inhabitant bacteria can
also indicate the health status of the host. Therefore, the present
study is an attempt to identify the microbial communities associated
with bats intestine samples collected from different parts
of India using 16S rRNA gene library approach. During this study
efforts have been taken to find out whether the bats of different
dietary habits harbour diverse gut flora. The results have led to the
identification of bacteria specifically present and shared between
the frugivorous and insectivorous bats. Such studies would enable
us to comprehend the host-bacteria relationship and understand
their potential role in zoonosis.