Amato Katherine R, Leigh Steven R, Kent Angela, Mackie Roderick I, Yeoman Carl J, Stumpf Rebecca M, Wilson Brenda A, Nelson Karen E, White Bryan A, Garber Paul A
Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA,
Microb Ecol. 2015 Feb;69(2):434-43. doi: 10.1007/s00248-014-0554-7. Epub 2014 Dec 19.
For most mammals, including nonhuman primates, diet composition varies temporally in response to differences in food availability. Because diet influences gut microbiota composition, it is likely that the gut microbiota of wild mammals varies in response to seasonal changes in feeding patterns. Such variation may affect host digestive efficiency and, ultimately, host nutrition. In this study, we investigate the temporal variation in diet and gut microbiota composition and function in two groups (N = 13 individuals) of wild Mexican black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) over a 10-month period in Palenque National Park, Mexico. Temporal changes in the relative abundances of individual bacterial taxa were strongly correlated with changes in host diet. For example, the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae was highest during periods when energy intake was lowest, and the relative abundance of Butyricicoccus was highest when young leaves and unripe fruit accounted for 68 % of the diet. Additionally, the howlers exhibited increased microbial production of energy during periods of reduced energy intake from food sources. Because we observed few changes in howler activity and ranging patterns during the course of our study, we propose that shifts in the composition and activity of the gut microbiota provided additional energy and nutrients to compensate for changes in diet. Energy and nutrient production by the gut microbiota appears to provide an effective buffer against seasonal fluctuations in energy and nutrient intake for these primates and is likely to have a similar function in other mammal species.
对于大多数哺乳动物，包括非人类灵长类动物而言，饮食组成会随时间变化，以应对食物可获得性的差异。由于饮食会影响肠道微生物群的组成，野生哺乳动物的肠道微生物群很可能会随着进食模式的季节性变化而变化。这种变化可能会影响宿主的消化效率，并最终影响宿主的营养状况。在本研究中，我们调查了墨西哥帕伦克国家公园内两组（共13只个体）野生墨西哥黑吼猴（Alouatta pigra）在10个月期间饮食、肠道微生物群组成及功能的时间变化。单个细菌类群相对丰度的时间变化与宿主饮食的变化密切相关。例如，瘤胃球菌科的相对丰度在能量摄入最低的时期最高，而丁酸球菌的相对丰度在嫩叶和未成熟果实占饮食68%时最高。此外，在从食物来源摄入的能量减少的时期，吼猴的微生物能量产生增加。由于在我们的研究过程中，我们观察到吼猴的活动和活动范围模式几乎没有变化，因此我们认为肠道微生物群组成和活性的变化提供了额外的能量和营养，以补偿饮食的变化。肠道微生物群产生的能量和营养似乎为这些灵长类动物提供了一种有效的缓冲，以抵御能量和营养摄入的季节性波动，并且在其他哺乳动物物种中可能也具有类似的功能。
