Abstract
BackgroundOne of the central issues in microbial ecology is to understand the parameters that drive diversity. Among these parameters, size has often been considered to be the main driver in many different ecosystems. Surprisingly, the influence of size on gut microbial diversity has not yet been investigated, and so far in studies reported in the literature only the influences of age, diet, phylogeny and digestive tract structures have been considered. This study explicitly challenges the underexplored relationship connecting gut volume and bacterial diversity.ResultsThe bacterial diversity of 189 faeces produced by 71 vertebrate species covering a body mass range of 5.6 log. The animals comprised mammals, birds and reptiles. The diversity was evaluated based on the Simpson Diversity Index extracted from 16S rDNA gene fingerprinting patterns. Diversity presented an increase along with animal body mass following a power law with a slope z of 0.338 ± 0.027, whatever the age, phylogeny, diet or digestive tract structure.ConclusionsThe results presented here suggest that gut volume cannot be neglected as a major driver of gut microbial diversity. The characteristics of the gut microbiota follow general principles of biogeography that arise in many ecological systems.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12898-016-0071-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
One of the central issues in microbial ecology is to understand the parameters that drive diversity
The species-area relationship is generally expressed in terms of habitat volume and has been illustrated in liquid sump tanks of metal-cutting machines [3], membrane bioreactors [4] and tree holes [5]
The bacterial diversity of faeces from 189 vertebrates belonging to 71 species (31 mammals, 37 birds and 3 reptiles) was analysed (Table 1; Fig. 1)
Summary
One of the central issues in microbial ecology is to understand the parameters that drive diversity. Among these parameters, size has often been considered to be the main driver in many different ecosystems. This study explicitly challenges the underexplored relationship connecting gut volume and bacterial diversity. Until present, the microbial speciesvolume relationship has never yet been studied for gut or body size, even though vertebrate gut size covers a wide range of magnitudes. A transfer occurs vertically from mothers to offspring or horizontally between individuals within a specific group Such transfers have given rise to the long-standing co-evolution of microbiota and their hosts [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
