Weissella, a novel lactic acid bacteria isolated from wild Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii)

This study aimed to isolate and identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in wild Sumatran orangutans to provide more information about LAB diversity derived from Sumatran orangutan feces.

Fecal sampling from three female orangutans, around 35 years old, was carried out in the wild forest areas at the research station of Suaq Belimbing Gunung Leuser National Park located in the South Aceh district. Orangutan fecal samples were taken in the morning when the orangutans first defecated. The orangutans were above the tree, which is approximately 12-15 m from the ground where feces were found.

Fermentation testing using the API 50 CHL Kit showed that OUL4 isolates were identified as Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis with an identity value of 73.5%. Homology analysis demonstrated that the OUL4 isolates have 93% similarity to Weissella cibaria, and phylogenetic trees constructed using Mega 7.0 also showed that OUL4 isolates are related to W. cibaria.

These results show that there is a difference in identification between biochemical testing with API kits and molecular analyses on LAB isolates from wild Sumatran orangutans. Based on 16S rRNA gene homology, the OUL4 LAB isolates from wild Sumatran orangutans have 93% homology to W. cibaria.