The Development of Bacterial Flora in the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Mongolian Gerbil

With selective media, the development of various aerobic and anaerobic bacterial flora such as enterococci, lactobacilli, streptococci, clostridia, conforms, staphylococci, and flavobacteria in the stomach, the small intestine and the large intestine of young Meriones unguicuhtus has been followed at specified intervals from the time of birth to the time of weaning. All but the enterococci of the stomach, the anaerobic clostridia of the large intestine and the coliforms were present in all parts of the gastrointestinal tract at day one. However, unborn fetuses were found to be free of cultivable microflora. The bacterial species invaded the tract immediately after birth, increased in numbers over the next 10-12 days, reached peaks soon after this period, and then declined or maintained the levels. The organisms greatly fluctuated in numbers and showed anatomical preferences. In most cases there were more anaerobic than aerobic organisms and generally the bacterial species were more numerous in the large intestine than in the stomach and small intestine.

Title	The Development of Bacterial Flora in the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Mongolian Gerbil
Creator	Mosher, R. H.
Creator	Majumdar, Shyamal K.
Publisher	Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science
Academic Department	Biology
Division	Natural Sciences
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	1974
Date Available	2023-06-26
Type	Article
Language	English
Bibliographic Citation	Majumdar, S. K. and R. H. Mosher (1974) "The Development of Bacterial Flora in the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Mongolian Gerbil." Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 48: 139-141.
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/6h440v01n
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/6h440v01n
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Rights Holders	Penn State University Press