The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch
Microbial communities residing in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals have profound impacts on the physiological processes of their hosts. In humans, host-specific and environmental factors likely interact together to shape gut microbial communities, resulting in remarkable inter-individual diffe...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.619141/full |
| _version_ | 1819168557107249152 |
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| author | Öncü Maraci Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou Sebastian Jünemann Sebastian Jünemann Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez Tobias Busche Jörn Kalinowski Barbara A. Caspers |
| author_facet | Öncü Maraci Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou Sebastian Jünemann Sebastian Jünemann Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez Tobias Busche Jörn Kalinowski Barbara A. Caspers |
| author_sort | Öncü Maraci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microbial communities residing in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals have profound impacts on the physiological processes of their hosts. In humans, host-specific and environmental factors likely interact together to shape gut microbial communities, resulting in remarkable inter-individual differences. However, we still lack a full understanding of to what extent microbes are individual-specific and controlled by host-specific factors across different animal taxa. Here, we document the gut microbial characteristics in two estrildid finch species, the Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata domestica) and the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to investigate between-species and within-species differences. We collected fecal samples from breeding pairs that were housed under strictly controlled environmental and dietary conditions. All individuals were sampled at five different time points over a range of 120 days covering different stages of the reproductive cycle. We found significant species-specific differences in gut microbial assemblages. Over a period of 3 months, individuals exhibited unique, individual-specific microbial profiles. Although we found a strong individual signature in both sexes, within-individual variation in microbial communities was larger in males of both species. Furthermore, breeding pairs had more similar microbial profiles, compared to randomly chosen males and females. Our study conclusively shows that host-specific factors contribute structuring of gut microbiota. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T19:05:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6cf6bb64bc2d4865a6016d64c83de9b4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T19:05:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6cf6bb64bc2d4865a6016d64c83de9b42022-12-21T18:15:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2021-02-011210.3389/fmicb.2021.619141619141The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra FinchÖncü Maraci0Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou1Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou2Sebastian Jünemann3Sebastian Jünemann4Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez5Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez6Tobias Busche7Jörn Kalinowski8Barbara A. Caspers9Department of Behavioural Ecology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyEvolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyInstitute of Biology-Zoology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, GermanyFaculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyFaculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyDepartment of Behavioural Ecology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyMicrobial communities residing in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals have profound impacts on the physiological processes of their hosts. In humans, host-specific and environmental factors likely interact together to shape gut microbial communities, resulting in remarkable inter-individual differences. However, we still lack a full understanding of to what extent microbes are individual-specific and controlled by host-specific factors across different animal taxa. Here, we document the gut microbial characteristics in two estrildid finch species, the Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata domestica) and the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to investigate between-species and within-species differences. We collected fecal samples from breeding pairs that were housed under strictly controlled environmental and dietary conditions. All individuals were sampled at five different time points over a range of 120 days covering different stages of the reproductive cycle. We found significant species-specific differences in gut microbial assemblages. Over a period of 3 months, individuals exhibited unique, individual-specific microbial profiles. Although we found a strong individual signature in both sexes, within-individual variation in microbial communities was larger in males of both species. Furthermore, breeding pairs had more similar microbial profiles, compared to randomly chosen males and females. Our study conclusively shows that host-specific factors contribute structuring of gut microbiota.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.619141/fullgut microbiotasymbiontsbirdszebra finchBengalese finchhost-specific factors |
| spellingShingle | Öncü Maraci Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou Sebastian Jünemann Sebastian Jünemann Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez Omar Castillo-Gutiérrez Tobias Busche Jörn Kalinowski Barbara A. Caspers The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch Frontiers in Microbiology gut microbiota symbionts birds zebra finch Bengalese finch host-specific factors |
| title | The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch |
| title_full | The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch |
| title_fullStr | The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch |
| title_short | The Gut Microbial Composition Is Species-Specific and Individual-Specific in Two Species of Estrildid Finches, the Bengalese Finch and the Zebra Finch |
| title_sort | gut microbial composition is species specific and individual specific in two species of estrildid finches the bengalese finch and the zebra finch |
| topic | gut microbiota symbionts birds zebra finch Bengalese finch host-specific factors |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.619141/full |
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