Bacterial Diversity Determination of Oral and Cloacal Cavities of Macrovipera lebetinus

Macrovipera lebetinus is a viper found in North Africa, much of the Middle East, and as far east as Kashmir. Since there is no study about its microbial flora, we conducted this research on the microbiota of its oral and cloacal cavities. Many swabs, both oral and cloacal, were taken from 11 vipers and cultured on Nutrient agar, and grown colonies were purified. Morphological and biochemical tests along with molecular analyses of 16S rRNA were performed for characterization of isolates. The gene homology searches were performed using BlastN, EzTaxon, and RDP Classifier. We identified a total of 29 bacterial species belonging 22 genera and 10 families, including pathogenic, opportunistic pathogen, and no-pathogenic bacteria. This was the first report of bacteria associated with oral and cloaca of M. lebetinus using molecular analysis. This research revealed the existence of a number of pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity of M. lebetinus viper, and therefore it is necessary to appropriate antibiotic therapy in addition to anti-venom treatment.