Characterization of Conjunctival Bacterial Flora of Healthy Laboratory-Housed New Zealand White Rabbits.

M. cuniculi is the predominant conjunctival bacterium in healthy NZW rabbits.

This experimental study characterized the conjunctival bacterial flora of 12 healthy laboratory-housed New Zealand White rabbits by collecting samples from 24 eyes using sterile dry swabs and standard microbiological techniques. Bacterial identification employed MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry with quantification expressed as colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL). Bacterial growth was detected in 74% of samples, yielding seven identified species: Moraxella cuniculi, Corynebacterium spp., coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus viridans group, and Tsukamurella spp. While most isolates were Gram-positive bacteria, M. cuniculi, a Gram-negative organism, emerged as the predominant species based on both frequency and bacterial load. M. cuniculi demonstrated statistically significantly higher CFU/mL values compared to other species (Kruskal-Wallis, p=0.01) and exhibited the greatest variability among isolates. These findings provide comprehensive characterization of the ocular microbiota in this important laboratory animal model, establishing baseline normal conjunctival flora for NZW rabbits and potentially informing future studies on ocular infections or microbiota alterations in this species.

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