Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size
Abstract Long-term studies of animal microbiomes under natural conditions are valuable for understanding the effects of host demographics and environmental factors on host-associated microbial communities, and how those effects interact and shift over time. We examined how the cloacal microbiome of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24518-6 |
| _version_ | 1797985476939874304 |
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| author | Marie E. Bunker A. Elizabeth Arnold Stacey L. Weiss |
| author_facet | Marie E. Bunker A. Elizabeth Arnold Stacey L. Weiss |
| author_sort | Marie E. Bunker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Long-term studies of animal microbiomes under natural conditions are valuable for understanding the effects of host demographics and environmental factors on host-associated microbial communities, and how those effects interact and shift over time. We examined how the cloacal microbiome of wild Sceloporus virgatus (the striped plateau lizard) varies under natural conditions in a multi-year study. Cloacal swabs were collected from wild-caught lizards across their entire active season and over three years in southeastern Arizona, USA. Analyses of 16S rRNA data generated on the Illumina platform revealed that cloacal microbiomes of S. virgatus vary as a function of season, sex, body size, and reproductive state, and do so independently of one another. Briefly, microbial diversity was lowest in both sexes during the reproductive season, was higher in females than in males, and was lowest in females when they were vitellogenic, and microbiome composition varied across seasons, sexes, and sizes. The pattern of decreased diversity during reproductive periods with increased sociality is surprising, as studies in other systems often suggest that microbial diversity generally increases with sociality. The cloacal microbiome was not affected significantly by hibernation and was relatively stable from year to year. This study highlights the importance of long term, wide-scale microbiome studies for capturing accurate perspectives on microbiome diversity and composition in animals. It also serves as a warning for comparisons of microbiomes across species, as each may be under a different suite of selective pressures or exhibit short-term variation from external or innate factors, which may differ in a species-specific manner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:17:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6fa6b1c5b3a74489a2270c618a5c6e0d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:17:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-6fa6b1c5b3a74489a2270c618a5c6e0d2022-12-22T04:37:51ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-11-0112111210.1038/s41598-022-24518-6Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body sizeMarie E. Bunker0A. Elizabeth Arnold1Stacey L. Weiss2Department of Biology, University of Puget SoundSchool of Plant Sciences and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of ArizonaDepartment of Biology, University of Puget SoundAbstract Long-term studies of animal microbiomes under natural conditions are valuable for understanding the effects of host demographics and environmental factors on host-associated microbial communities, and how those effects interact and shift over time. We examined how the cloacal microbiome of wild Sceloporus virgatus (the striped plateau lizard) varies under natural conditions in a multi-year study. Cloacal swabs were collected from wild-caught lizards across their entire active season and over three years in southeastern Arizona, USA. Analyses of 16S rRNA data generated on the Illumina platform revealed that cloacal microbiomes of S. virgatus vary as a function of season, sex, body size, and reproductive state, and do so independently of one another. Briefly, microbial diversity was lowest in both sexes during the reproductive season, was higher in females than in males, and was lowest in females when they were vitellogenic, and microbiome composition varied across seasons, sexes, and sizes. The pattern of decreased diversity during reproductive periods with increased sociality is surprising, as studies in other systems often suggest that microbial diversity generally increases with sociality. The cloacal microbiome was not affected significantly by hibernation and was relatively stable from year to year. This study highlights the importance of long term, wide-scale microbiome studies for capturing accurate perspectives on microbiome diversity and composition in animals. It also serves as a warning for comparisons of microbiomes across species, as each may be under a different suite of selective pressures or exhibit short-term variation from external or innate factors, which may differ in a species-specific manner.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24518-6 |
| spellingShingle | Marie E. Bunker A. Elizabeth Arnold Stacey L. Weiss Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size Scientific Reports |
| title | Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size |
| title_full | Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size |
| title_fullStr | Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size |
| title_short | Wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season, sex, and body size |
| title_sort | wild microbiomes of striped plateau lizards vary with reproductive season sex and body size |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24518-6 |
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