scholarly journals Host Phylogeny and Diet Shape Gut Microbial Communities Within Bamboo-Feeding Insects

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuanguan Huang ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Junhao Huang ◽  
Shouke Zhang ◽  
Alfried P. Vogler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Sequencing Platform ◽  
Diet Specialization ◽  
Dietary Niche ◽  
Host Phylogeny ◽  
Specialized Diet

The gut microbiome plays an important role in a host’s development and adaption to its dietary niche. In this study, a group of bamboo-feeding insects are used to explore the potential role of the gut microbiota in the convergent adaptation to extreme diet specialization. Specifically, using a 16S rRNA marker and an Illumina sequencing platform, we profiled the microbial communities of 76 gut samples collected from nine bamboo-feeding insects, including both hemimetabolous (Orthoptera and Hemiptera) and holometabolous (Coleoptera and Lepidoptera) species, which are specialized in three distinct dietary niches: bamboo leaf, shoot, and sap. The gut microbiota of these insects were dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes and were clustered into solid (leaf and shoot) and liquid (sap) dietary niches. The gut bacterial communities of insects feeding on solid diet overlapped significantly, even though these insects belong to phylogenetically distant lineages representing different orders. In addition, the presence of cellulolytic bacterial communities within the gut microbiota allows bamboo-feeding insects to adapt to a highly specialized, fiber-rich diet. Although both phylogeny and diet can impact the structure and composition of gut microbiomes, phylogeny is the primary driving force underlying the convergent adaptation to a highly specialized diet, especially when the related insect species harbor similar gut microbiomes and share the same dietary niche over evolutionary timescales. These combined findings lay the foundation for future research on how convergent feeding strategies impact the interplays between hosts and their gut microbiomes and how the gut microbiota may facilitate convergent evolution in phylogenetically distant species in adaptation to the shared diet.

scholarly journals Host phylogeny drives the structure and diversity of insect microbiota

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonino Malacrino'
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sequencing Data ◽  
Insect Nutrition ◽  
Common Framework ◽  
Host Phylogeny ◽  
Insect Taxonomy ◽  
Outstanding Question

Microorganisms have an enormous impact on most of the life that inhabits our planet. Insects are an excellent example, as research showed that several microbial species are essential for insect nutrition, reproduction, fitness, defence and many other functions. More recently, we assisted to an exponential growth of studies describing the taxonomical composition of bacterial communities across insects' phylogeny. However, there is still an outstanding question that needs to be answered: which factors contribute most in shaping insects' microbiomes? This study tries to find an answer to this question by taking advantage of publicly available sequencing data and reanalysing over 4,000 samples of insect-associated bacterial communities under a common framework. Results suggest that insect taxonomy has a wider impact on the structure and diversity of their associated microbial communities than the other factors considered (diet, sex, life stage, sample origin and treatment). Also, a survey of the literature highlights several methodological limitations that needs to be considered in future research endeavours. This study proofs the amount of collective effort that lead to the current understanding of insect-microbiota interactions and their influence on insect biology, ecology and evolution with potential impact on insect conservation and management practices.

scholarly journals Lung and gut microbiota are altered by hyperoxia and contribute to oxygen-induced lung injury in mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (556) ◽  
pp. eaau9959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanna L. Ashley ◽  
Michael W. Sjoding ◽  
Antonia P. Popova ◽  
Tracy X. Cui ◽  
Matthew J. Hoostal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Injury ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Adult Mouse ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Germ Free ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Systemic Antibiotic Treatment ◽  
Severe Lung

Inhaled oxygen, although commonly administered to patients with respiratory disease, causes severe lung injury in animals and is associated with poor clinical outcomes in humans. The relationship between hyperoxia, lung and gut microbiota, and lung injury is unknown. Here, we show that hyperoxia conferred a selective relative growth advantage on oxygen-tolerant respiratory microbial species (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus) as demonstrated by an observational study of critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation and experiments using neonatal and adult mouse models. During exposure of mice to hyperoxia, both lung and gut bacterial communities were altered, and these communities contributed to oxygen-induced lung injury. Disruption of lung and gut microbiota preceded lung injury, and variation in microbial communities correlated with variation in lung inflammation. Germ-free mice were protected from oxygen-induced lung injury, and systemic antibiotic treatment selectively modulated the severity of oxygen-induced lung injury in conventionally housed animals. These results suggest that inhaled oxygen may alter lung and gut microbial communities and that these communities could contribute to lung injury.

scholarly journals Localization of bacterial communities within gut compartments across Cephalotes turtle ants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Flynn ◽  
Catherine L. D’Amelio ◽  
Jon G. Sanders ◽  
Jacob A. Russell ◽  
Corrie S. Moreau
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Caste Differentiation ◽  
Animal Group ◽  
16S Rrna Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Host Phylogeny

Microbial communities within the animal digestive tract often provide important functions for their hosts. The composition of eukaryotes' gut bacteria can be shaped by host diet, vertical bacterial transmission, and physiological variation within the digestive tract. In several ant taxa, recent findings have demonstrated that nitrogen provisioning by symbiotic bacteria makes up for deficiencies in herbivorous diets. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and qPCR, this study examined bacterial communities at a fine scale across one such animal group, the turtle ant genus Cephalotes. We analyzed the composition and colonization density across four portions of the digestive tract to understand how bacterial diversity is structured across gut compartments, potentially allowing for specific metabolic functions of benefit to the host. In addition, we aimed to understand if caste differentiation or host relatedness influences the gut bacterial communities of Cephalotes ants. Microbial communities were found to vary strongly across Cephalotes gut compartments in ways that transcend both caste and host phylogeny. Despite this, caste and host phylogeny still have detectable effects. We demonstrated microbial community divergence across gut compartments, possibly due to the varying function of each gut compartment for digestion. IMPORTANCE Gut compartments play an important role in structuring the microbial community within individual ants. The gut chambers of the turtle ant digestive tract differ remarkably in symbiont abundance and diversity. Furthermore, caste type explains some variation in the microbiome composition. Finally, the evolutionary history of the Cephalotes species structures the microbiome in our study, which elucidates a trend in which related ants maintain related microbiomes, conceivably owing to co-speciation. Amazingly, gut compartment-specific signatures of microbial diversity, relative abundance, composition, and abundance have been conserved over Cephalotes evolutionary history, signifying that this symbiosis has been largely stable for over 50 million years.

scholarly journals In ovo microbial communities: a potential mechanism for the initial acquisition of gut microbiota among oviparous birds and lizards

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 20180225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Trevelline ◽  
Kirsty J. MacLeod ◽  
Sarah A. Knutie ◽  
Tracy Langkilde ◽  
Kevin D. Kohl
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Egg Yolk ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
In Ovo ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Initial Acquisition ◽  
Culture Independent

Vertebrate gut microbiota mediate critical physiological processes known to affect host fitness, but the mechanisms that expose wildlife to pioneer members of this important microbial community are not well understood. For example, oviparous vertebrates are thought to acquire gut microbiota through post-natal exposure to the external environment, but recent evidence from placental mammals suggests that the vertebrate reproductive tract harbours microbiota that may inoculate offspring in utero . These findings suggest that oviparous vertebrates may be capable of acquiring pioneer microbiota in ovo , but this phenomenon remains unexplored. To fill this knowledge gap, we used culture-independent inventories to determine if the eggs of wild birds and lizards harboured in ovo microbial communities. Our approach revealed distinct in ovo bacterial communities, but fungal communities were indistinguishable from controls. Further, lizard eggs from the same clutch had bacterial community structures that were more similar to each other than to unrelated individuals. These results suggest that oviparous vertebrates may acquire maternal microbiota in ovo , possibly through the inoculation of egg yolk prior to shelling. Therefore, this study may provide a first glimpse of a phenomenon with substantial implications for our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping gut microbial communities.

scholarly journals Predaceous Toxorhynchites mosquitoes require a living gut microbiota to develop

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1919) ◽  
pp. 20192705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerri L. Coon ◽  
Luca Valzania ◽  
Mark R. Brown ◽  
Michael R. Strand
Keyword(s):  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Aquatic Environment ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Functional Assays ◽  
First Instar ◽  
Low Diversity

Most species of mosquitoes are detritivores that feed on decaying plant and animal materials in their aquatic environment. Studies of several detritivorous mosquito species indicate that they host relatively low diversity communities of microbes that are acquired from the environment while feeding. Our recent results also indicate that detritivorous species normally require a living gut microbiota to grow beyond the first instar. Less well known is that some mosquitoes, including those belonging to the genus Toxorhynchites , are predators that feed on other species of mosquitoes and nektonic prey. In this study, we asked whether predaceous Toxorhynchites amboinensis larvae still require living microbes in their gut in order to develop. Using the detritivorous mosquito Aedes aegypti as prey, we found that T. amboinensis larvae harbour bacterial communities that are highly similar to that of their prey. Functional assays showed that T. amboinensis first instars provided axenic (i.e. bacteria-free) prey failed to develop, while two bacterial species present in gnotobiotic (i.e. colonized by one or more known bacterial species) prey successfully colonized the T. amboinensis gut and rescued development. Axenic T. amboinensis larvae also displayed defects in growth consistent with previously identified roles for microbe-mediated gut hypoxia in nutrient acquisition and assimilation in A. aegypti. Collectively, these results support a conserved role for gut microbes in regulating the development of mosquitoes with different feeding strategies.

scholarly journals Comparative Study of the Gut Microbiota Among Four Different Marine Mammals in an Aquarium

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shijie Bai ◽  
Peijun Zhang ◽  
Changhao Zhang ◽  
Jiang Du ◽  
Xinyi Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Host Phylogeny ◽  
Bacterial Lineages

Despite an increasing appreciation in the importance of host–microbe interactions in ecological and evolutionary processes, information on the gut microbial communities of some marine mammals is still lacking. Moreover, whether diet, environment, or host phylogeny has the greatest impact on microbial community structure is still unknown. To fill part of this knowledge gap, we exploited a natural experiment provided by an aquarium with belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) affiliated with family Monodontidae, Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) and common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) affiliated with family Delphinidae, and Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) affiliated with family Otariidae. Results show significant differences in microbial community composition of whales, dolphins, and fur seals and indicate that host phylogeny (family level) plays the most important role in shaping the microbial communities, rather than food and environment. In general, the gut microbial communities of dolphins had significantly lower diversity compared to that of whales and fur seals. Overall, the gut microbial communities were mainly composed of Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria, together with some from Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, and Epsilonbacteraeota. However, specific bacterial lineages were differentially distributed among the marine mammal groups. For instance, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Peptostreptococcaceae were the dominant bacterial lineages in the gut of belugas, while for Cape fur seals, Moraxellaceae and Bacteroidaceae were the main bacterial lineages. Moreover, gut microbial communities in both Pacific white-sided dolphins and common bottlenose dolphins were dominated by a number of pathogenic bacteria, including Clostridium perfringens, Vibrio fluvialis, and Morganella morganii, reflecting the poor health condition of these animals. Although there is a growing recognition of the role microorganisms play in the gut of marine mammals, current knowledge about these microbial communities is still severely lacking. Large-scale research studies should be undertaken to reveal the roles played by the gut microbiota of different marine mammal species.

scholarly journals Different analysis strategies of 16S rRNA gene data from rodent studies generate contrasting views of gut bacterial communities associated with diet, health and obesity

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10372
Author(s):  
Jose F. Garcia-Mazcorro ◽  
Jorge R. Kawas ◽  
Cuauhtemoc Licona Cassani ◽  
Susanne Mertens-Talcott ◽  
Giuliana Noratto
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Microbial Composition ◽  
Analysis Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Background One of the main functions of diet is to nurture the gut microbiota and this relationship affects the health of the host. However, different analysis strategies can generate different views on the relative abundance of each microbial taxon, which can affect our conclusions about the significance of diet to gut health in lean and obese subjects. Here we explored the impact of using different analysis strategies to study the gut microbiota in a context of diet, health and obesity. Methods Over 15 million 16S rRNA gene sequences from published studies involving dietary interventions in obese laboratory rodents were analyzed. Three strategies were used to assign the 16S sequences to Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) based on the GreenGenes reference OTU sequence files clustered at 97% and 99% similarity. Results Different strategies to select OTUs influenced the relative abundance of all bacterial taxa, but the magnitude of this phenomenon showed a strong study effect. Different taxa showed up to 20% difference in relative abundance within the same study, depending on the analysis strategy. Very few OTUs were shared among the samples. ANOSIM test on unweighted UniFrac distances showed that study, sequencing technique, animal model, and dietary treatment (in that order) were the most important factors explaining the differences in bacterial communities. Except for obesity status, the contribution of diet and other factors to explain the variability in bacterial communities was lower when using weighted UniFrac distances. Predicted functional profile and high-level phenotypes of the microbiota showed that each study was associated with unique features and patterns. Conclusions The results confirm previous findings showing a strong study effect on gut microbial composition and raise concerns about the impact of analysis strategies on the membership and composition of the gut microbiota. This study may be helpful to guide future research aiming to investigate the relationship between diet, health, and the gut microbiota.

scholarly journals Interpopulation Variation in the Atlantic Salmon Microbiome Reflects Environmental and Genetic Diversity

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamsyn M. Uren Webster ◽  
Sofia Consuegra ◽  
Matthew Hitchings ◽  
Carlos Garcia de Leaniz
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Wild Fish ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Captive Populations ◽  
Microbiome Diversity ◽  
Interpopulation Variation

ABSTRACTThe microbiome has a crucial influence on host phenotype and is of broad interest to ecological and evolutionary research. Yet, the extent of variation that occurs in the microbiome within and between populations is unclear. We characterized the skin and gut microbiomes of seven populations of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) inhabiting a diverse range of environments, including hatchery-reared and wild populations. We found shared skin operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across all populations and core gut microbiota for all wild fish, but the diversity and structure of both skin and gut microbial communities were distinct between populations. There was a marked difference between the gut microbiomes of wild and captive fish. Hatchery-reared fish had lower intestinal microbial diversity, lacked core microbiota found in wild fish, and showed altered community structure and function. Skin and gut microbiomes were also less varied within captive populations, reflecting more uniform artificial rearing conditions. The surrounding water influenced the microbiome of the gut and, especially, the skin, but could not explain the degree of variation observed between populations. For both gut and skin, we found that there was greater difference in microbiome structures between more genetically distinct fish populations, and that population genetic diversity was positively correlated with microbiome diversity. However, diet is likely to be the major factor contributing to the large differences in gut microbiota between wild and captive fish. Our results highlight the scope of interpopulation variation in the Atlantic salmon microbiome and offer insights into the deterministic factors contributing to microbiome diversity and structure.IMPORTANCEVariation in the microbiome has a fundamental influence on host health, ecology, and evolution, but the scope and basis of this variation are not fully understood. We identified considerable variation in skin and gut microbial communities between seven wild and captive populations of Atlantic salmon, reflecting divergent environmental conditions and fish genetic diversity. In particular, we found very pronounced differences in the intestinal microbiomes of wild and hatchery-reared fish, likely reflecting differences in diet. Our results offer an insight into how the microbiome potentially contributes to the generation of local adaptations in this species and how domestication alters intestinal microbial communities, highlighting future research directions in these areas.

Comparison of the gut microbiota of Rana amurensis and Rana dybowskii under natural winter fasting conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 366 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Tong ◽  
Xiao-peng Du ◽  
Zong-fu Hu ◽  
Li-yong Cui ◽  
Jia Bie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Operational Taxonomic Unit ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Intestinal Microbes ◽  
Bacterial Phyla ◽  
Significant Enrichment

ABSTRACT Rana amurensis and R. dybowskii occupy similar habitats. As temperatures decrease with the onset of winter, both species migrate to ponds for hibernation. Our goal was to determine whether different species possess different intestinal microbiota under natural winter fasting conditions. We used high-throughput Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene sequences to analyse the diversity of intestinal microbes in the two species. The dominant gut bacterial phyla in both species were Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size revealed significant enrichment of Proteobacteria in R. amurensis and Firmicutes in R. dybowskii. There were significant differences in the gut microbiota composition between the species. The core operational taxonomic unit numbers in R. amurensis and R. dybowskii shared by the two species were 106, 100 and 36. This study indicates that the intestinal bacterial communities of the two frog species are clearly different. Phylum-level analysis showed that R. amurensis was more abundant in Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia than R. dybowskii was This is the first study of the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota of these two species, providing important insights for future research on the gut microbiota and the role of these bacterial communities in frogs.

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