Gut Colonization of Zebrafish Larvae Induces a Dampened Sensorimotor Response.

Cholera is a diarrheal disease prevalent in populations without access to clean water. Cholera is caused by which colonizes the upper small intestine in humans once ingested. A growing number of studies suggest that the gut microbiome composition modulates animal behavior. Zebrafish are an established cholera model that can maintain a complex, mature gut microbiome during infection. Larval zebrafish, which have immature gut microbiomes, provide the advantage of high-throughput analyses for established behavioral models. We identified the effects of O1 El Tor C6706 colonization at 5 days post-fertilization (dpf) on larval zebrafish behavior by tracking startle responses at 10 dpf. We also characterized the larval gut microbiome using 16S rRNA sequencing. -infected or uninfected control groups were exposed to either an alternating light/dark stimuli or a single-tap stimulus, and average distance and velocity were tracked. : While there was no significant difference in the light/dark trial, we report a significant decrease in distance moved for C6706-colonized larvae during the single-tap trial. This suggests that early colonization of the larval gut microbiome has a dampening effect on sensorimotor function, supporting the idea of a link between the gut microbiome and behavior.