Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity
In mammals, the composition of the gut microbiota is associated with host phylogenetic history, and host-lineage specific microbiota have been shown, in some cases, to contribute to fitness-related traits of their hosts. However, in primates, captivity can disrupt the native microbiota through a pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.785089/full |
| _version_ | 1819172670256709632 |
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| author | Brian K. Trevelline Brian K. Trevelline Andrew H. Moeller |
| author_facet | Brian K. Trevelline Brian K. Trevelline Andrew H. Moeller |
| author_sort | Brian K. Trevelline |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In mammals, the composition of the gut microbiota is associated with host phylogenetic history, and host-lineage specific microbiota have been shown, in some cases, to contribute to fitness-related traits of their hosts. However, in primates, captivity can disrupt the native microbiota through a process of humanization in which captive hosts acquire gut microbiota constituents found in humans. Despite the potential importance of this process for the health of captive hosts, the degree to which captivity humanizes the gut microbiota of other mammalian taxa has not been explored. Here, we analyzed hundreds of published gut microbiota profiles generated from wild and captive hosts spanning seven mammalian families to investigate the extent of humanization of the gut microbiota in captivity across the mammalian phylogeny. Comparisons of these hosts revealed compositional convergence between captive mammal and human gut microbiota in the majority of mammalian families examined. This convergence was driven by a diversity of microbial lineages, including members of the Archaea, Clostridium, and Bacteroides. However, the gut microbiota of two families—Giraffidae and Bovidae—were remarkably robust to humanization in captivity, showing no evidence of gut microbiota acquisition from humans relative to their wild confamiliars. These results demonstrate that humanization of the gut microbiota is widespread in captive mammals, but that certain mammalian lineages are resistant to colonization by human-associated gut bacteria. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:10:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f73522555fe84ed0853de6f437c2452f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:10:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-f73522555fe84ed0853de6f437c2452f2022-12-21T18:14:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2022-01-01910.3389/fevo.2021.785089785089Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in CaptivityBrian K. Trevelline0Brian K. Trevelline1Andrew H. Moeller2Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesIn mammals, the composition of the gut microbiota is associated with host phylogenetic history, and host-lineage specific microbiota have been shown, in some cases, to contribute to fitness-related traits of their hosts. However, in primates, captivity can disrupt the native microbiota through a process of humanization in which captive hosts acquire gut microbiota constituents found in humans. Despite the potential importance of this process for the health of captive hosts, the degree to which captivity humanizes the gut microbiota of other mammalian taxa has not been explored. Here, we analyzed hundreds of published gut microbiota profiles generated from wild and captive hosts spanning seven mammalian families to investigate the extent of humanization of the gut microbiota in captivity across the mammalian phylogeny. Comparisons of these hosts revealed compositional convergence between captive mammal and human gut microbiota in the majority of mammalian families examined. This convergence was driven by a diversity of microbial lineages, including members of the Archaea, Clostridium, and Bacteroides. However, the gut microbiota of two families—Giraffidae and Bovidae—were remarkably robust to humanization in captivity, showing no evidence of gut microbiota acquisition from humans relative to their wild confamiliars. These results demonstrate that humanization of the gut microbiota is widespread in captive mammals, but that certain mammalian lineages are resistant to colonization by human-associated gut bacteria.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.785089/fullmammalsconservationmetagenomicsmicrobiomebacteriatransmission |
| spellingShingle | Brian K. Trevelline Brian K. Trevelline Andrew H. Moeller Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution mammals conservation metagenomics microbiome bacteria transmission |
| title | Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity |
| title_full | Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity |
| title_fullStr | Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity |
| title_short | Robustness of Mammalian Gut Microbiota to Humanization in Captivity |
| title_sort | robustness of mammalian gut microbiota to humanization in captivity |
| topic | mammals conservation metagenomics microbiome bacteria transmission |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.785089/full |
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