Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
ISME J. 2013 Jul;7(7):1344-53. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2013.16. Epub 2013 Mar 14.
The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome contributes significantly to host nutrition and health. However, relationships involving GI microbes, their hosts and host macrohabitats remain to be established. Here, we define clear patterns of variation in the GI microbiomes of six groups of Mexican black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) occupying a gradation of habitats including a continuous evergreen rainforest, an evergreen rainforest fragment, a continuous semi-deciduous forest and captivity. High throughput microbial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing indicated that diversity, richness and composition of howler GI microbiomes varied with host habitat in relation to diet. Howlers occupying suboptimal habitats consumed less diverse diets and correspondingly had less diverse gut microbiomes. Quantitative real-time PCR also revealed a reduction in the number of genes related to butyrate production and hydrogen metabolism in the microbiomes of howlers occupying suboptimal habitats, which may impact host health.
胃肠道（GI）微生物组对宿主的营养和健康有重要贡献。然而，涉及 GI 微生物、其宿主和宿主宏生境的关系仍有待确定。在这里，我们定义了在墨西哥黑吼猴（Alouatta pigra）六个群体的 GI 微生物组中清晰的变化模式，这些猴群栖息在一系列生境中，包括常绿雨林、常绿雨林片段、连续半落叶林和圈养。高通量微生物 16S 核糖体 RNA 基因测序表明，吼猴的 GI 微生物组的多样性、丰富度和组成随宿主栖息地而变化，与饮食有关。栖息在次优生境中的吼猴食用的食物种类较少，相应地，其肠道微生物组的多样性也较少。定量实时 PCR 还揭示了在栖息在次优生境中的吼猴的微生物组中，与丁酸产生和氢代谢相关的基因数量减少，这可能会影响宿主的健康。
