The microbiota of long-living and cancer-free blind mole rat $\textit{(Nannospalax xanthodon)}$ from the edge of its distribution in Northern Anatolia

Abstract

The mammalian gut is colonized by microorganisms that affect development, immune system, energy metabolism, and reproduction. The majority of studies focused on laboratory or domestic animals in artificial setups, leaving the research focused on wild species underrepresented. The Anatolian Blind Molerat (hereafter ABMR), $\textit{Nannospalax xanthodon}$, is a subterranean rodent that receives much attention due to its unique traits, such as tolerance to extreme hypoxic stress, resistance to cancer, and longer lifespan compared to similarly sized rodents. In this study, we characterize the gut microbiota of ABMR from its northernmost geographic distribution using 16S rRNA metabarcoding and compare our results with the microbiome characteristics of a few other ABMR populations studied previously, as well as other rodent species. The 16S rRNA barcode dataset revealed that approximately 90% of the ABMR gut microbiota comprises Firmicutes and Bacteriodota bacterial phyla, typical of most mammals. In addition, the ABMR gut microbiota has a high abundance of performance- and longevity-linked bacterial families. Overall, our results generally align well with the previous studies on blind molerats and emphasize the importance of studying the microbiome of natural populations.