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Gut microbiota individuality is contingent on temporal scale and age in wild meerkats
- Source :
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- The Royal Society, 2022.
-
Abstract
- Inter-individual differences in gut microbiota composition are hypothesized to generate variation in host fitness – a premise for the evolution of host-gut microbe symbioses. However, recent evidence suggests that gut microbial communities are highly dynamic, challenging the notion that individuals harbour unique gut microbial phenotypes. Leveraging a long-term dataset of wild meerkats, we reconcile these concepts by demonstrating that the relative importance of identity for shaping gut microbiota phenotypes depends on the temporal scale. Across meerkat lifespan, year-to-year variation overshadowed the effects of identity and social group in predicting gut microbiota composition, with identity explaining on average less than 2% of variation. However, identity was the strongest predictor of microbial phenotypes over short sampling intervals (< 2 months), predicting on average 20% of variation. The effect of identity was also dependent on meerkat age, with the gut microbiota becoming more individualized and stable as meerkats aged. Nevertheless, whilst the predictive power of identity was negligible after two months, gut microbiota composition remained weakly individualised compared to that of other meerkats for up to one year. These findings illuminate the degree to which individualised gut microbial signatures can be expected, with important implications for the time frames over which gut microbial phenotypes may mediate host physiology, behaviour and fitness in natural populations.<br />acceptedVersion
- Subjects :
- Survival
Überleben
Longevity
intraclass correlation coefficient
gut microbiome
Genetics and Molecular Biology
1100 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
2300 General Environmental Science
10127 Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
DDC 570 / Life sciences
1300 General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
ddc:570
2400 General Immunology and Microbiology
meerkats
repeatability
Symbiosis
General Environmental Science
General Immunology and Microbiology
Microbiota
temporal dynamics
General Medicine
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Dynamics
General Biochemistry
570 Life sciences
biology
590 Animals (Zoology)
host–microbiota interactions
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14712954 and 09628452
- Volume :
- 289
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5e4bb3c55e027bbeae355971a831bd3e