The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats
ABSTRACTThe gut microbiome is a symbiotic microbial community associated with the host and plays multiple important roles in host physiology, nutrition, and health. A number of factors have been shown to influence the gut microbiome, among which diet is considered to be one of the most important; ho...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Society for Microbiology
2024-04-01
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| Series: | mSphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00087-24 |
| _version_ | 1797194039512006656 |
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| author | Wentao Dai Haixia Leng Jun Li Aoqiang Li Zhongle Li Yue Zhu Xiaolin Li Longru Jin Keping Sun Jiang Feng |
| author_facet | Wentao Dai Haixia Leng Jun Li Aoqiang Li Zhongle Li Yue Zhu Xiaolin Li Longru Jin Keping Sun Jiang Feng |
| author_sort | Wentao Dai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTThe gut microbiome is a symbiotic microbial community associated with the host and plays multiple important roles in host physiology, nutrition, and health. A number of factors have been shown to influence the gut microbiome, among which diet is considered to be one of the most important; however, the relationship between diet composition and gut microbiota in wild mammals is still not well recognized. Herein, we characterized the gut microbiota of bats and examined the effects of diet, host taxa, body size, gender, elevation, and latitude on the gut microbiota. The cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and 16S rRNA gene amplicons were sequenced from the feces of eight insectivorous bat species in southern China, including Miniopterus fuliginosus, Aselliscus stoliczkanus, Myotis laniger, Rhinolophus episcopus, Rhinolophus osgoodi, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus affinis, and Rhinolophus pusillus. The results showed that the composition of gut microbiome and diet exhibited significant differences among bat species. Diet composition and gut microbiota were significantly correlated at the order, family, genus, and operational taxonomic unit levels, while certain insects had a marked effect on the gut microbiome at specific taxonomic levels. In addition, elevation, latitude, body weight of bats, and host species had significant effects on the gut microbiome, but phylosymbiosis between host phylogeny and gut microbiome was lacking. These findings clarify the relationship between gut microbiome and diet and contribute to improving our understanding of host ecology and the evolution of the gut microbiome in wild mammals.IMPORTANCEThe gut microbiome is critical for the adaptation of wildlife to the dynamic environment. Bats are the second-largest group of mammals with short intestinal tract, yet their gut microbiome is still poorly studied. Herein, we explored the relationships between gut microbiome and food composition, host taxa, body size, gender, elevation, and latitude. We found a significant association between diet composition and gut microbiome in insectivorous bats, with certain insect species having major impacts on gut microbiome. Factors like species taxa, body weight, elevation, and latitude also affected the gut microbiome, but we failed to detect phylosymbiosis between the host phylogeny and the gut microbiome. Overall, our study presents novel insights into how multiple factors shape the bat’s gut microbiome together and provides a study case on host-microbe interactions in wildlife. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T05:49:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41b20bae94fe40d1887f0fb22b00e672 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2379-5042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T05:49:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | mSphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-41b20bae94fe40d1887f0fb22b00e6722024-04-23T13:00:39ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymSphere2379-50422024-04-019410.1128/msphere.00087-24The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous batsWentao Dai0Haixia Leng1Jun Li2Aoqiang Li3Zhongle Li4Yue Zhu5Xiaolin Li6Longru Jin7Keping Sun8Jiang Feng9Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, ChinaJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaJilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, ChinaABSTRACTThe gut microbiome is a symbiotic microbial community associated with the host and plays multiple important roles in host physiology, nutrition, and health. A number of factors have been shown to influence the gut microbiome, among which diet is considered to be one of the most important; however, the relationship between diet composition and gut microbiota in wild mammals is still not well recognized. Herein, we characterized the gut microbiota of bats and examined the effects of diet, host taxa, body size, gender, elevation, and latitude on the gut microbiota. The cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and 16S rRNA gene amplicons were sequenced from the feces of eight insectivorous bat species in southern China, including Miniopterus fuliginosus, Aselliscus stoliczkanus, Myotis laniger, Rhinolophus episcopus, Rhinolophus osgoodi, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus affinis, and Rhinolophus pusillus. The results showed that the composition of gut microbiome and diet exhibited significant differences among bat species. Diet composition and gut microbiota were significantly correlated at the order, family, genus, and operational taxonomic unit levels, while certain insects had a marked effect on the gut microbiome at specific taxonomic levels. In addition, elevation, latitude, body weight of bats, and host species had significant effects on the gut microbiome, but phylosymbiosis between host phylogeny and gut microbiome was lacking. These findings clarify the relationship between gut microbiome and diet and contribute to improving our understanding of host ecology and the evolution of the gut microbiome in wild mammals.IMPORTANCEThe gut microbiome is critical for the adaptation of wildlife to the dynamic environment. Bats are the second-largest group of mammals with short intestinal tract, yet their gut microbiome is still poorly studied. Herein, we explored the relationships between gut microbiome and food composition, host taxa, body size, gender, elevation, and latitude. We found a significant association between diet composition and gut microbiome in insectivorous bats, with certain insect species having major impacts on gut microbiome. Factors like species taxa, body weight, elevation, and latitude also affected the gut microbiome, but we failed to detect phylosymbiosis between the host phylogeny and the gut microbiome. Overall, our study presents novel insights into how multiple factors shape the bat’s gut microbiome together and provides a study case on host-microbe interactions in wildlife.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00087-24gut microbiomediet compositioninsectivorous bats16S rRNAhigh-throughput sequencing |
| spellingShingle | Wentao Dai Haixia Leng Jun Li Aoqiang Li Zhongle Li Yue Zhu Xiaolin Li Longru Jin Keping Sun Jiang Feng The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats mSphere gut microbiome diet composition insectivorous bats 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing |
| title | The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats |
| title_full | The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats |
| title_fullStr | The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats |
| title_short | The role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats |
| title_sort | role of host traits and geography in shaping the gut microbiome of insectivorous bats |
| topic | gut microbiome diet composition insectivorous bats 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00087-24 |
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