Peng Yi, Huang Mengyuan, Sun Xiaoli, Ling Wenqing, Hao Xiaoye, Huang Guangping, Wu Xiangdong, Chen Zheng, Tang Xiaoli
College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
Microorganisms. 2025 Jul 25;13(8):1736. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13081736.
Projections indicate that the global urban population is anticipated to reach 67.2% by 2050, accompanied by a threefold increase in urban built-up areas worldwide. Urbanization has profoundly transformed Earth's natural environment, notably characterized by the drastic reduction and fragmentation of wildlife habitats. These changes contribute to local species extinction, leading to biodiversity loss and profoundly impacting ecological processes and regional sustainable development. However, within urban settings, certain 'generalist' species demonstrate survival capabilities contingent upon phenotypic plasticity. The co-evolution of gut microbiota with their hosts emerges as a key driver of this phenotypic plasticity. The presence of diverse gut microbiota constitutes a crucial adaptive mechanism essential for enabling hosts to adjust to rapid environmental shifts. This review comprehensively explores amniote gut microbial changes in the context of urbanization, examining potential drivers of these changes (including diet and environmental pollutants) and their potential consequences for host health (such as physiology, metabolism, immune function, and susceptibility to infectious and non-infectious diseases). Ultimately, the implications of the gut microbiome are highlighted for elucidating key issues in ecology and evolution. This understanding is expected to enhance our comprehension of species adaptation in the Anthropocene.
预测表明，到2050年全球城市人口预计将达到67.2%，与此同时全球城市建成区面积将增加两倍。城市化深刻地改变了地球的自然环境，其显著特征是野生动物栖息地急剧减少和碎片化。这些变化导致当地物种灭绝，造成生物多样性丧失，并对生态过程和区域可持续发展产生深远影响。然而，在城市环境中，某些“通才”物种表现出取决于表型可塑性的生存能力。肠道微生物群与其宿主的共同进化成为这种表型可塑性的关键驱动因素。多样的肠道微生物群的存在是使宿主能够适应快速环境变化的关键适应性机制。本综述全面探讨了城市化背景下羊膜动物肠道微生物的变化，研究了这些变化的潜在驱动因素（包括饮食和环境污染物）及其对宿主健康的潜在影响（如生理学、新陈代谢、免疫功能以及对传染病和非传染病的易感性）。最终，强调了肠道微生物组对阐明生态学和进化中的关键问题的意义。这一认识有望增进我们对人类世中物种适应的理解。
