The rabbit caecal microbiota: development, composition and its role in the prevention of digestive diseases – a review on recent literature in the light of molecular genetic methods

Abstract

The caecum (and its microbiota) is essential to preserve the rabbit’s digestive health. The intestinal microbiota is made up of hundreds of bacterium species, but only 25-40% can be cultured by the classical microbiological techniques. The aim of this paper is to summarize the development, composition and role of the caecal microbiota of rabbits; and the results of modern molecular biological methods.