Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Parasit Vectors. 2024 Aug 23;17(1):358. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06451-x.
The mammalian gut microbiome includes a community of eukaryotes with significant taxonomic and functional diversity termed the eukaryome. The molecular analysis of eukaryotic diversity in microbiomes of wild mammals is still in its early stages due to the recent emergence of interest in this field. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by collecting data on eukaryotic species found in the intestines of wild rodents. Because little is known about the influence of climate on the gut eukaryome, we compared the composition of the gut eukaryotes in two rodent species, Mus musculus domesticus and Acomys cahirinus, which inhabit a transect crossing a temperate and tropical zone on the Jordanian side of the Great Rift Valley (GRV).
We used high-throughput amplicon sequencing targeting the 18S rRNA gene in fecal samples from rodents to identify eukaryotic organisms, their relative abundance, and their potential for pathogenicity.
Nematodes and protozoa were the most prevalent species in the eukaryome communities, whereas fungi made up 6.5% of the total. Sixty percent of the eukaryotic ASVs belonged to taxa that included known pathogens. Eighty percent of the rodents were infected with pinworms, specifically Syphacia obvelata. Eukaryotic species diversity differed significantly between bioclimatic zones (p = 0.001). Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Aspiculuris tetraptera were found to be present exclusively in the Sudanian zone rodents. This area has not reported any cases of Trichuris infections. Yet, Capillaria infestations were unique to the Mediterranean region, while Trichuris vulpis infestations were also prevalent in the Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian regions.
This study highlights the importance of considering host species diversity and environmental factors when studying eukaryome composition in wild mammals. These data will be valuable as a reference to eukaryome study.
哺乳动物肠道微生物组包括一个具有显著分类和功能多样性的真核生物群落，称为真核生物组。由于该领域最近才开始关注，因此对野生动物微生物组中真核生物多样性的分子分析仍处于早期阶段。本研究旨在通过收集野生啮齿动物肠道中发现的真核生物物种的数据来填补这一知识空白。由于对气候对肠道真核生物组的影响知之甚少，我们比较了栖息在大裂谷（GRV）约旦一侧温带和热带过渡带的两种啮齿动物物种——小家鼠和 Acomys cahirinus——肠道真核生物的组成。
我们使用针对粪便样本 18S rRNA 基因的高通量扩增子测序来鉴定真核生物、它们的相对丰度及其潜在的致病性。
线虫和原生动物是真核生物组群落中最常见的物种，而真菌占总数的 6.5%。60%的真核生物 ASVs 属于包括已知病原体在内的分类群。80%的啮齿动物感染了旋毛虫，特别是 Syphacia obvelata。真核生物物种多样性在生物气候区之间存在显著差异（p=0.001）。Nippostrongylus brasiliensis 和 Aspiculuris tetraptera 仅存在于苏丹区啮齿动物中。该地区没有报告任何 Trichuris 感染病例。然而，Capillaria 感染是地中海地区特有的，而 Trichuris vulpis 感染在地中海和伊朗-图兰地区也很普遍。
本研究强调了在研究野生哺乳动物真核生物组组成时考虑宿主物种多样性和环境因素的重要性。这些数据将作为真核生物组研究的参考资料非常有价值。
