Metagenome sequencing reveals Rhodococcus dominance in Farpuk Cave, Mizoram, India, an Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hot spot region

Abstract

The present study employed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to survey the prokaryotic microbiota on Farpuk Cave, revealing a diverse bacterial community with 4,021 operational taxonomical units (OTUs), mainly dominated by the genus Rhodococcus. Moreover, 18.17% of the OTUs were unclassified at the phylum level, suggesting the existence of novel bacterial species.