Abstract
Gut microbiota play a significant role for animals to adapt to the changing environment. Host species and habitats are key drivers in shaping the diversity and composition of the microbiota, but the determinants of composition of the sympatric host gut microbiome remain poorly understood within an ecosystem. In this study, we examined the effects of habitats of different succession stages and host species on the diversity and composition of fecal gut microbiota in four sympatric rodent species (Apodemus draco, Leopoldamys edwardsi, Niviventer confucianus, and Niviventer fulvescens) in a subtropical forest. We found, as compared to the differences between species, habitat types showed a much larger effect on the gut microbiota of rodents. Alpha diversity of the microbial community of A. draco, N. fulvescens, and N. confucianus was highest in farmland, followed by primary forest and shrubland, and lowest in secondary forest. Beta diversity of the three rodent species showed significant different among habitats. The alpha diversity of gut microbiota of L. edwardsi was significantly higher than those of A. draco and N. confucianus, and its beta diversity showed significant difference from A. draco. Our results suggested that gut microbiota were important for animals in responding to diet changes in different habitats under human disturbances.
Highlights
Mammalian digestive systems harbor a complex microbial community, which is essential for their hosts to digest food, maintain health, and adapt to the changing environments (Clemente et al, 2012)
Beta diversity analysis using PERMANOVA revealed that there was a significant difference in gut microbiota community between A. draco and L. edwardsi
It is known that host species and habitats could significantly affect the gut microbiota of small mammals across a broad scope of taxa and environmental gradients, but it is unclear how the gut microbiota of sympatric species responds to habitat changes caused by forest fragmentation
Summary
Mammalian digestive systems harbor a complex microbial community, which is essential for their hosts to digest food, maintain health, and adapt to the changing environments (Clemente et al, 2012). Changes in gut microbiota are found to be closely related to metabolic dysfunction and diseases of humans, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (Li et al, 2016). Many factors, such as phylogeny, environment, and diet, could influence the diversity and composition of gut microbiota (Maynard et al, 2012; Tremaroli and Bäckhed, 2012). Phylogeny of host animals can be a strong predictor of gut microbiota, which has been confirmed in a diverse range of taxa, including insects, birds, and mammals (Ochman et al, 2010; Nishida and Ochman, 2018; Amato et al, 2019; Knowles et al, 2019). Mouse knockout experiments have identified genes involved in metabolism, immunity, and behavior that affect the gut microbiota (Spor et al, 2011)
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