Zhang Mingyi, Wang Xiaochen, Yao Hui, Shen Ying, Teng Yang, Garber Paul A, Pan Huijuan, Li Ming
School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
State Key Laboratory of Animal Biodiversity Conservation and Integrated Pest Management, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2025 Aug 22;11(1):169. doi: 10.1038/s41522-025-00806-7.
The effects of seasonal fluctuations in food availability on gut microbiome composition, diversity, and function present significant challenges to animals with hard-to-digest diets. Here, we investigate seasonal variation the gut microbiome of wild golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana), a foregut fermenting primate, using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics data. We reconstructed 578 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), 76.5% of which did not have exact matches in reference databases, highlighting the novelty of their gut microbiota. The gut microbiome of wild golden snub-nosed monkeys exhibited high diversity and enrichment in plant secondary compound metabolism during summer, while in winter it was enriched with enzymes that function in lichen polysaccharide degradation and Lachnospiraceae, which is important for energy balance. Captive monkeys on a consistent diet showed minimal seasonal variation in gut microbiome composition. Habitat changes also affected golden snub-nosed monkey microbiota community assembly and carbon cycling pathways. These findings underscore the gut microbiome's plasticity in meeting host dietary needs under varying environmental conditions.
食物可利用性的季节性波动对饮食难以消化的动物的肠道微生物群组成、多样性和功能产生重大挑战。在此，我们利用宏基因组学和宏转录组学数据，研究前肠发酵灵长类动物野生川金丝猴（Rhinopithecus roxellana）肠道微生物群的季节性变化。我们重建了578个宏基因组组装基因组（MAG），其中76.5%在参考数据库中没有精确匹配，突出了其肠道微生物群的新颖性。野生川金丝猴的肠道微生物群在夏季表现出高度的多样性以及植物次生化合物代谢的富集，而在冬季则富含参与地衣多糖降解的酶和对能量平衡很重要的毛螺菌科。饮食一致的圈养猴子肠道微生物群组成的季节性变化最小。栖息地变化也影响了川金丝猴微生物群群落组装和碳循环途径。这些发现强调了肠道微生物群在不同环境条件下满足宿主饮食需求方面的可塑性。
