Popov Igor V, Berezinskaia Iraida S, Popov Ilia V, Martiusheva Irina B, Tkacheva Elizaveta V, Gorobets Vladislav E, Tikhmeneva Iuliia A, Aleshukina Anna V, Tverdokhlebova Tatiana I, Chikindas Michael L, Venema Koen, Ermakov Alexey M
Faculty "Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine" and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
Division of Immunobiology and Biomedicine, Center of Genetics and Life Sciences, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Federal Territory Sirius, Russia.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Nov 26;13(23):3658. doi: 10.3390/ani13233658.
The role of bats in the global microbial ecology no doubt is significant due to their unique immune responses, ability to fly, and long lifespan, all contributing to pathogen spread. Some of these animals hibernate during winter, which results in the altering of their physiology. However, gut microbiota shifts during hibernation is little studied. In this research, we studied cultivable gut microbiota composition and diversity of before, during, and after hibernation in a bat rehabilitation center. Gut microorganisms were isolated on a broad spectrum of culture media, counted, and identified with mass spectrometry. Linear modeling was used to investigate associations between microorganism abundance and physiological status, and alpha- and beta-diversity indexes were used to explore diversity changes. As a result, most notable changes were observed in , , , and , which were significantly more highly abundant in hibernating bats, while , , , , and were more abundant in active bats before hibernation. The alpha-diversity was the lowest in hibernating bats, while the beta-diversity differed significantly among all studied periods. Overall, this study shows that hibernation contributes to changes in bat cultivable gut microbiota composition and diversity.
Microbiol Spectr. 2023-8-17
Front Microbiol. 2019-10-1
Microorganisms. 2022-5-14
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2021-3
PLoS One. 2025-7-3
Animals (Basel). 2024-5-17
Genome Biol Evol. 2023-9-4
Microbiol Spectr. 2023-8-17
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023-2-19
Microbiol Spectr. 2022-12-21
Conserv Sci Pract. 2022-7