Abstract
Host fitness is impacted by trillions of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract that facilitate development and are inextricably tied to life history. During development, microbial colonization primes the gut metabolism and physiology, thereby setting the stage for adult nutrition and health. However, the ecological rules governing microbial succession are poorly understood. In this study, we examined the relationship between host lineage, captive diet, and life stage and gut microbiota characteristics in three primate species (infraorder, Lemuriformes). Fecal samples were collected from captive lemur mothers and their infants, from birth to weaning. Microbial DNA was extracted and the v4 region of 16S rDNA was sequenced on the Illumina platform using protocols from the Earth Microbiome Project. Here, we show that colonization proceeds along different successional trajectories in developing infants from species with differing dietary regimes and ecological profiles: frugivorous (fruit-eating) Varecia variegata, generalist Lemur catta, and folivorous (leaf-eating) Propithecus coquereli. Our analyses reveal community membership and succession patterns consistent with previous studies of human infants, suggesting that lemurs may serve as a useful model of microbial ecology in the primate gut. Each lemur species exhibits distinct species-specific bacterial diversity signatures correlating to life stages and life history traits, implying that gut microbial community assembly primes developing infants at species-specific rates for their respective adult feeding strategies.
Highlights
Research on the human gut microbiome (GM) has burgeoned in the past decade [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
Whereas other recent research on primate microbiomes has relied on limited cross-sectional sampling [3,6,7,8,12,13,14,15,16,17] we present an extensive longitudinal study of the GM diversity of mother-infant pairs of three different lemur species from birth to weaning
By controlling certain environmental variables such as dietary intake and recording relevant long-term metadata, we investigate the contributions of host life stage, captive diet, and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) morphology to the host-gut microbial relationship and the process of community assembly
Summary
Research on the human gut microbiome (GM) has burgeoned in the past decade [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] These studies have revealed that the GM has profound impacts on phenotype, ranging from cognition [10] to locomotion [11]. Whereas other recent research on primate microbiomes has relied on limited cross-sectional sampling [3,6,7,8,12,13,14,15,16,17] we present an extensive longitudinal study of the GM diversity of mother-infant pairs of three different lemur species from birth to weaning. Human handlers played no role in assisting the animals during delivery, and only handled infants during exams at the time of sample collection, to minimize human impact on lemur GIT colonization
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