在一项对野生维氏冕狐猴的纵向研究中,季节性模式和群体成员特征描绘了肠道微生物群。
Patterns of seasonality and group membership characterize the gut microbiota in a longitudinal study of wild Verreaux's sifakas ().
作者信息
Springer Andrea, Fichtel Claudia, Al-Ghalith Gabriel A, Koch Flávia, Amato Katherine R, Clayton Jonathan B, Knights Dan, Kappeler Peter M
机构信息
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit German Primate Center Göttingen Germany.
Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Hanover Germany.
出版信息
Ecol Evol. 2017 Jun 15;7(15):5732-5745. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3148. eCollection 2017 Aug.
The intestinal microbiota plays a major role in host development, metabolism, and health. To date, few longitudinal studies have investigated the causes and consequences of microbiota variation in wildlife, although such studies provide a comparative context for interpreting the adaptive significance of findings from studies on humans or captive animals. Here, we investigate the impact of seasonality, diet, group membership, sex, age, and reproductive state on gut microbiota composition in a wild population of group-living, frugi-folivorous primates, Verreaux's sifakas (). We repeatedly sampled 32 individually recognizable animals from eight adjacent groups over the course of two different climatic seasons. We used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to determine the microbiota composition of 187 fecal samples. We demonstrate a clear pattern of seasonal variation in the intestinal microbiota, especially affecting the Firmicutes-Bacteroidetes ratio, which may be driven by seasonal differences in diet. The relative abundances of certain polysaccharide-fermenting taxa, for example, Lachnospiraceae, were correlated with fruit and fiber consumption. Additionally, group membership influenced microbiota composition independent of season, but further studies are needed to determine whether this pattern is driven by group divergences in diet, social contacts, or genetic factors. In accordance with findings in other wild mammals and primates with seasonally fluctuating food availability, we demonstrate seasonal variation in the microbiota of wild Verreaux's sifakas, which may be driven by food availability. This study adds to mounting evidence that variation in the intestinal microbiota may play an important role in the ability of primates to cope with seasonal variation in food availability.
肠道微生物群在宿主发育、新陈代谢和健康方面发挥着重要作用。迄今为止,很少有纵向研究调查野生动物微生物群变化的原因和后果,尽管此类研究为解释人类或圈养动物研究结果的适应性意义提供了比较背景。在此,我们调查了季节性、饮食、群体成员、性别、年龄和生殖状态对群居、食果食叶灵长类动物维氏冕狐猴野生种群肠道微生物群组成的影响。在两个不同的气候季节里,我们从八个相邻群体中反复对32只个体可识别的动物进行采样。我们使用16S rRNA基因的高通量测序来确定187份粪便样本的微生物群组成。我们证明了肠道微生物群存在明显的季节性变化模式,尤其影响厚壁菌门与拟杆菌门的比例,这可能是由饮食的季节性差异驱动的。某些多糖发酵类群的相对丰度,例如毛螺菌科,与水果和纤维的摄入量相关。此外,群体成员身份独立于季节影响微生物群组成,但需要进一步研究来确定这种模式是否由饮食、社会接触或遗传因素的群体差异驱动。与其他食物供应季节性波动的野生哺乳动物和灵长类动物的研究结果一致,我们证明了野生维氏冕狐猴的微生物群存在季节性变化,这可能是由食物供应驱动的。这项研究进一步证明,肠道微生物群的变化可能在灵长类动物应对食物供应季节性变化的能力中发挥重要作用。