Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota
Background Integrative studies of animals and associated microbial assemblages (i.e., the holobiont) are rapidly changing our perspectives on organismal ecology and evolution. Insular vertebrates provide ideal natural systems to understand patterns of host-gut microbiota coevolution, the resilience...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/14511.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797418197918416896 |
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| author | Laura Baldo Giacomo Tavecchia Andreu Rotger José Manuel Igual Joan Lluís Riera |
| author_facet | Laura Baldo Giacomo Tavecchia Andreu Rotger José Manuel Igual Joan Lluís Riera |
| author_sort | Laura Baldo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Integrative studies of animals and associated microbial assemblages (i.e., the holobiont) are rapidly changing our perspectives on organismal ecology and evolution. Insular vertebrates provide ideal natural systems to understand patterns of host-gut microbiota coevolution, the resilience and plasticity these microbial communities over temporal and spatial scales, and ultimately their role in the host ecological adaptation. Methods Here we used the endemic Balearic wall lizard Podarcis lilfordi to dissect the drivers of the microbial diversity within and across host allopatric populations/islets. By focusing on three extensively studied populations/islets of Mallorca (Spain) and fecal sampling from individually identified lizards along two years (both in spring and autumn), we sorted out the effect of islet, sex, life stage, year and season on the microbiota composition. We further related microbiota diversity to host genetics, trophic ecology and expected annual metabolic changes. Results All the three populations showed a remarkable conservation of the major microbial taxonomic profile, while carrying their unique microbial signature at finer level of taxonomic resolution (Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs)). Microbiota distances across populations were compatible with both host genetics (based on microsatellites) and trophic niche distances (based on stable isotopes and fecal content). Within populations, a large proportion of ASVs (30–50%) were recurrently found along the four sampling dates. The microbial diversity was strongly marked by seasonality, with no sex effect and a marginal life stage and annual effect. The microbiota showed seasonal fluctuations along the two sampled years, primarily due to changes in the relative abundances of fermentative bacteria (mostly families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae), without any major compositional turnover. Conclusions These results support a large resilience of the major compositional aspects of the P. lilfordi gut microbiota over the short-term evolutionary divergence of their host allopatric populations (<10,000 years), but also indicate an undergoing process of parallel diversification of the both host and associated gut microbes. Predictable seasonal dynamics in microbiota diversity suggests a role of microbiota plasticity in the lizards’ metabolic adaptation to their resource-constrained insular environments. Overall, our study supports the need for longitudinal and integrative studies of host and associated microbes in natural systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:29:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d8ade6603744aacbeb4a07c8531e899 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:29:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-9d8ade6603744aacbeb4a07c8531e8992023-12-03T11:12:32ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592023-01-0111e1451110.7717/peerj.14511Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiotaLaura Baldo0Giacomo Tavecchia1Andreu Rotger2José Manuel Igual3Joan Lluís Riera4Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainAnimal Demography and Ecology Unit, IMEDEA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Esporles, SpainAnimal Demography and Ecology Unit, IMEDEA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Esporles, SpainAnimal Demography and Ecology Unit, IMEDEA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Esporles, SpainDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainBackground Integrative studies of animals and associated microbial assemblages (i.e., the holobiont) are rapidly changing our perspectives on organismal ecology and evolution. Insular vertebrates provide ideal natural systems to understand patterns of host-gut microbiota coevolution, the resilience and plasticity these microbial communities over temporal and spatial scales, and ultimately their role in the host ecological adaptation. Methods Here we used the endemic Balearic wall lizard Podarcis lilfordi to dissect the drivers of the microbial diversity within and across host allopatric populations/islets. By focusing on three extensively studied populations/islets of Mallorca (Spain) and fecal sampling from individually identified lizards along two years (both in spring and autumn), we sorted out the effect of islet, sex, life stage, year and season on the microbiota composition. We further related microbiota diversity to host genetics, trophic ecology and expected annual metabolic changes. Results All the three populations showed a remarkable conservation of the major microbial taxonomic profile, while carrying their unique microbial signature at finer level of taxonomic resolution (Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs)). Microbiota distances across populations were compatible with both host genetics (based on microsatellites) and trophic niche distances (based on stable isotopes and fecal content). Within populations, a large proportion of ASVs (30–50%) were recurrently found along the four sampling dates. The microbial diversity was strongly marked by seasonality, with no sex effect and a marginal life stage and annual effect. The microbiota showed seasonal fluctuations along the two sampled years, primarily due to changes in the relative abundances of fermentative bacteria (mostly families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae), without any major compositional turnover. Conclusions These results support a large resilience of the major compositional aspects of the P. lilfordi gut microbiota over the short-term evolutionary divergence of their host allopatric populations (<10,000 years), but also indicate an undergoing process of parallel diversification of the both host and associated gut microbes. Predictable seasonal dynamics in microbiota diversity suggests a role of microbiota plasticity in the lizards’ metabolic adaptation to their resource-constrained insular environments. Overall, our study supports the need for longitudinal and integrative studies of host and associated microbes in natural systems.https://peerj.com/articles/14511.pdfPopulation diversity16S rRNA IlluminaSexSeasonDietStable isotopes |
| spellingShingle | Laura Baldo Giacomo Tavecchia Andreu Rotger José Manuel Igual Joan Lluís Riera Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota PeerJ Population diversity 16S rRNA Illumina Sex Season Diet Stable isotopes |
| title | Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota |
| title_full | Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota |
| title_fullStr | Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota |
| title_short | Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota |
| title_sort | insular holobionts persistence and seasonal plasticity of the balearic wall lizard podarcis lilfordi gut microbiota |
| topic | Population diversity 16S rRNA Illumina Sex Season Diet Stable isotopes |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/14511.pdf |
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