Host Diet Research Articles

The effects of host ecology and phylogeny on gut microbiota (non)parallelism across birds and mammals.

What are the roles of determinism and contingency in evolution? The paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen J. Gould raised this question in his famous thought experiment of "replaying life's tape." Settings where independent lineages have repeatedly adapted to similar ecological niches (i.e., parallel evolution) are well suited to address this question. Here, we quantified whether repeated ecological shifts across 53 mammalian and 50 avian host species are associated with parallel gut microbiota changes. Our results indicate that parallel shifts in host diet are associated with greater gut microbiota parallelism (i.e., more deterministic). While further research will be necessary to obtain a comprehensive picture of the circumstances under which deterministic gut microbiota changes might be expected, our study can be instrumental in motivating the use of more quantitative methods in microbiota research. This, in turn, can help us better understand microbiota dynamics during adaptive evolution of their hosts.

Seasonal dynamics in the mammalian microbiome between disparate environments.

Host-associated bacterial microbiomes can facilitate host acclimation to seasonal environmental change and are hypothesized to help hosts cope with recent anthropogenic environmental perturbations (e.g., landscape modification). However, it is unclear how recurrent and recent forms of environmental change interact to shape variation in the microbiome. The majority of wildlife microbiome research occurs within a single seasonal context. Meanwhile, the few studies of seasonal variation in the microbiome often restrict focus to a single environmental context. By sampling urban and exurban eastern grey squirrel populations in the spring, summer, autumn, and winter, we explored whether seasonal rhythms in the grey squirrel gut microbiome differed across environments using a 16S amplicon sequencing approach. Differences in the microbiome between urban and exurban squirrels persisted across most of the year, which we hypothesize is linked to anthropogenic food consumption, but we also observed similarities in the urban and exurban grey squirrel microbiome during the autumn, which we attribute to engrained seed caching instincts in preparation for the winter. Host behaviour and diet selection may therefore be capable of maintaining similarities in microbiome structure between disparate environments. However, the depletion of an obligate host mucin glycan specialist (Akkermansia) during the winter in both urban and exurban squirrels was among the strongest differential abundance patterns we observed. In summary, urban grey squirrels showed different seasonal patterns in their microbiome than squirrels from exurban forests; however, in some instances, host behaviour and physiological responses might be capable of maintaining similar microbiome responses across seasons.

Diet-induced shifts in the gut microbiota influence anastomotic healing in a murine model of colonic surgery

ABSTRACT Host diet and gut microbiota interact to contribute to perioperative complications, including anastomotic leak (AL). Using a murine surgical model of colonic anastomosis, we investigated how diet and fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) impacted the intestinal microbiota and if a predictive signature for AL could be determined. We hypothesized that a Western diet (WD) would impact gut microbial composition and that the resulting dysbiosis would correlate with increased rates of AL, while FMT from healthy, lean diet (LD) donors would reduce the risk of AL. Furthermore, we predicted that surgical outcomes would allow for the development of a microbial preclinical translational tool to identify AL. Here, we show that AL is associated with a dysbiotic microbial community characterized by increased levels of Bacteroides and Akkermansia. We identified several key taxa that were associated with leak formation, and developed an index based on the ratio of bacteria associated with the absence and presence of leak. We also highlight a modifiable connection between diet, microbiota, and anastomotic healing, potentially paving the way for perioperative modulation by microbiota-targeted therapeutics to reduce AL.

Phylosymbiosis: The Eco-Evolutionary Pattern of Insect-Symbiont Interactions.

Insects harbor diverse assemblages of bacterial and fungal symbionts, which play crucial roles in host life history. Insects and their various symbionts represent a good model for studying host-microbe interactions. Phylosymbiosis is used to describe an eco-evolutionary pattern, providing a new cross-system trend in the research of host-associated microbiota. The phylosymbiosis pattern is characterized by a significant positive correlation between the host phylogeny and microbial community dissimilarities. Although host-symbiont interactions have been demonstrated in many insect groups, our knowledge of the prevalence and mechanisms of phylosymbiosis in insects is still limited. Here, we provide an order-by-order summary of the phylosymbiosis patterns in insects, including Blattodea, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. Then, we highlight the potential contributions of stochastic effects, evolutionary processes, and ecological filtering in shaping phylosymbiotic microbiota. Phylosymbiosis in insects can arise from a combination of stochastic and deterministic mechanisms, such as the dispersal limitations of microbes, codiversification between symbionts and hosts, and the filtering of phylogenetically conserved host traits (incl., host immune system, diet, and physiological characteristics).

Suitability of the shrub-steppe habitat of Eastern Washington for Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), has spread throughout most of Washington (WA) State since its detection in 2012. While it has emerged as a major agricultural and nuisance pest in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) west of the Cascade Mountains, pest pressure in the major tree fruit-growing areas in semi-arid northern and central WA State remains low. The reasons for this are unclear, although both biotic and abiotic conditions may be contributing factors. We evaluated the suitability of a common shrub-steppe/riparian corridor plant assemblage for supporting H. halys development from egg to adult in summer and fall through controlled feeding studies. Nymphs successfully completed development on this diet of PNW native plants, though it generally resulted in lower survivorship and adult weight and longer developmental times than a modified colony diet or a diet of known hosts from the eastern United States. These developmental data were used to parameterize stage-structured matrix models to predict the impact of diet and extreme heat events on H. halys population growth. The predicted net reproductive rate (R0) of H. halys was consistently and substantially reduced by a diet of PNW native plants, and heat shock imposed further severe reductions in R0. Our results suggest that the combined population effects of suboptimal plant host quality and regional heat waves may explain the lack of landscape-level H. halys pest pressure in semi-arid regions of the PNW.

The functional traits of host fish can act as good predictors for parasite composition in a neotropical floodplain.

Parasite diversity can be influenced by the interaction of environmental factors and host traits, but understanding which traits can be decisive for the establishment of the parasite may provide subsidies fora better understanding of the host-parasite relationship. In this study, we investigated whether functional traits, diet, and host phylogeny can predict the similarity of the endoparasite composition of a fish assemblage in a Brazilian floodplain. Of the three evaluated components, the host's diet was the factor that showed the greatest influence on the composition and similarity of endoparasites, demonstrating the highest value of the explanation. The functional traits and phylogeny, despite presenting significant values (unique effect and global effect), showed low explainability in the composition of the endoparasites. When analyzing the joint effects, all components showed significant influence. Hosts that live in the same environment that are phylogenetically related and have a similar ecology have a certain degree of homogeneity in their parasite assemblages and, because they are endoparasites (which are acquired trophically along the chain), diet is the main driver of parasite richness and similarity. Overall, host traits can be one of the main determinants of parasite composition, so studies that address the functional traits of the host provide a representation of local diversity and define the possible patterns of these parasite communities.

Host genetic background rather than diet-induced gut microbiota shifts of sympatric black-necked crane, common crane and bar-headed goose

IntroductionGut microbiota of wild birds are affected by many factors, and host genetic background and diet are considered to be two important factors affecting their structure and function.MethodsIn order to clarify how these two factors influence the gut microbiota, this study selected the sympatric and closely related and similar-sized Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) and Common Crane (Grus grus), as well as the distantly related and significantly different-sized Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus). The fecal samples identified using sanger sequencing as the above three bird species were subjected to high-throughput sequencing of rbcL gene and 16S rRNA gene to identify the feeding types phytophagous food and gut microbiota.ResultsThe results showed significant differences in food diversity between black-necked cranes and Common Cranes, but no significant differences in gut microbiota, Potatoes accounted for approximately 50% of their diets. Bar-headed Geese mainly feed on medicinal plants such as Angelica sinensis, Alternanthera philoxeroides, and Ranunculus repens. Black-necked cranes and Common Cranes, which have a high-starch diet, have a similar degree of enrichment in metabolism and synthesis functions, which is significantly different from Bar-headed Geese with a high-fiber diet. The differences in metabolic pathways among the three bird species are driven by food. The feeding of medicinal plants promotes the health of Bar-headed Geese, indicating that food influences the functional pathways of gut microbiota. Spearman analysis showed that there were few gut microbiota related to food, but almost all metabolic pathways were related to food.ConclusionThe host genetic background is the dominant factor determining the composition of the microbiota. Monitoring the changes in gut microbiota and feeding types of wild birds through bird feces is of great reference value for the conservation of other endangered species.

16S rRNA gene-based meta-analysis of the reptile gut microbiota reveals environmental effects, host influences and a limited core microbiota.

An animal's gut microbiota plays an important role in host health, reproduction and digestion. However, many studies focus on only a few individuals or a single species, limiting our ability to recognize emergent patterns across a wider taxonomic grouping. Here, we compiled and reanalysed published 16S rRNA gene sequence data for 745 gut microbiota samples from 91 reptile species using a uniform bioinformatics pipeline to draw broader conclusions about the taxonomy of the reptile gut microbiota and the forces shaping it. Our meta-analysis revealed the significant differences in alpha- and beta-diversity across host order, environment, diet, habitat and conservation status, with host diet and order contributing the most to these differences. We identified the principal bacterial phyla present in the reptile gut microbiota as Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria (mostly Gamma class), and Firmicutes, and detected the bacterial genus Bacteroides in most reptile individuals, thus representing a putative 'core' microbiota. Our study provides novel insights into key drivers of the reptile gut microbiota, highlights existing knowledge gaps and lays the groundwork for future research on these fascinating hosts and their associated microbes.

The microbiome of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) under managed care resembles that of wild marine mammals and birds

Animals under managed care in zoos and aquariums are ideal surrogate study subjects for endangered species that are difficult to obtain in the wild. We compared the fecal and oral microbiomes of healthy, managed African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) to those of other domestic and wild vertebrate hosts to determine how host identity, diet, and environment shape the penguin microbiome. The African penguin oral microbiome was more similar to that of piscivorous marine mammals, suggesting that diet and a marine environment together play a strong role in shaping the oral microbiome. Conversely, the penguin cloaca/fecal microbiome was more similar to that of other birds, suggesting that host phylogeny plays a significant role in shaping the gut microbiome. Although the penguins were born under managed care, they had a gut microbiome more similar to that of wild bird species compared to domesticated (factory-farmed) birds, suggesting that the managed care environment and diet resemble those experienced by wild birds. Finally, the microbiome composition at external body sites was broadly similar to that of the habitat, suggesting sharing of microbes between animals and their environment. Future studies should link these results to microbial functional capacity and host health, which will help inform conservation efforts.

Division of labor within psyllids: metagenomics reveals an ancient dual endosymbiosis with metabolic complementarity in the genus Cacopsylla.

Heritable beneficial bacterial endosymbionts have been crucial for the evolutionary success of numerous insects by enabling the exploitation of nutritionally limited food sources. Herein, we describe a previously unknown dual endosymbiosis in the psyllid genus Cacopsylla, consisting of the primary endosymbiont "Candidatus Carsonella ruddii" and a co-occurring Enterobacteriaceae bacterium for which we propose the name "Candidatus Psyllophila symbiotica." Its localization within the bacteriome and its small genome size confirm that Psyllophila is a co-primary endosymbiont widespread within the genus Cacopsylla. Despite its highly eroded genome, Psyllophila perfectly complements the tryptophan biosynthesis pathway that is incomplete in the co-occurring Carsonella. Moreover, the genome of Psyllophila is almost as small as Carsonella's, suggesting an ancient dual endosymbiosis that has now reached a precarious stage where any additional gene loss would make the system collapse. Hence, our results shed light on the dynamic interactions of psyllids and their endosymbionts over evolutionary time.

Arsenophonus symbiosis with louse flies: multiple origins, coevolutionary dynamics, and metabolic significance.

Arsenophonus is a widespread insect symbiont with life strategies that vary from parasitism to obligate mutualism. In insects living exclusively on vertebrate blood, mutualistic Arsenophonus strains are presumed to provide B vitamins missing in the insect host diet. Hippoboscidae, obligate blood feeders related to tsetse flies, have been previously suggested to have acquired Arsenophonus symbionts in several independent events. Based on comparative genomic analyses of 11 Hippoboscidae-associated strains, 9 of them newly assembled, we reveal a wide range of their genomic characteristics and phylogenetic affiliations. Phylogenetic patterns and genomic traits split the strains into two different types. Seven strains display characteristics of obligate mutualists with significantly reduced genomes and long phylogenetic branches. The remaining four strains cluster on short branches, and their genomes resemble those of free-living bacteria or facultative symbionts. Both phylogenetic positions and genomic traits indicate that evolutionary history of the Hippoboscidae-Arsenophonus associations is a mixture of short-term coevolutions with at least four independent origins. The comparative approach to a reconstruction of B vitamin pathways across the available Arsenophonus genomes has produced two kinds of patterns. On one hand, it indicates the different importance of individual B vitamins in the host-symbiont interaction. While some (riboflavin, pantothenate, and folate) seem to be synthesized by all Hippoboscidae-associated obligate symbionts, pathways for others (thiamine, nicotinamide, and cobalamin) are mostly missing. On the other hand, the broad comparison has produced patterns that can serve as bases for further assessments of the pathways' completeness and functionality. IMPORTANCE Insects that live exclusively on vertebrate blood utilize symbiotic bacteria as a source of essential compounds, e.g., B vitamins. In louse flies, the most frequent symbiont originated in genus Arsenophonus, known from a wide range of insects. Here, we analyze genomic traits, phylogenetic origins, and metabolic capacities of 11 Arsenophonus strains associated with louse flies. We show that in louse flies, Arsenophonus established symbiosis in at least four independent events, reaching different stages of symbiogenesis. This allowed for comparative genomic analysis, including convergence of metabolic capacities. The significance of the results is twofold. First, based on a comparison of independently originated Arsenophonus symbioses, it determines the importance of individual B vitamins for the insect host. This expands our theoretical insight into insect-bacteria symbiosis. The second outcome is of methodological significance. We show that the comparative approach reveals artifacts that would be difficult to identify based on a single-genome analysis.

Combined effects of host genetics and diet on porcine intestinal fungi and their pathogenic genes.

As research on gut microbes progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that a small family of microbiota--fungi, plays a crucial role in animal health. However, little is known about the fungal composition in the pig intestine, especially after a dietary fiber diet and hybrid genetics, and the changes in host pathogenicity-associated genes they carry. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of diet and genetics on the diversity and structure of porcine intestinal fungi and to describe, for the first time, the host pathogenicity-related genes carried by porcine intestinal fungi. Samples of colonic contents were collected for metagenomic analysis using a 3 × 2 parsing design, where three pig breeds (Taoyuan, Duroc, and crossbred Xiangcun) were fed high or low fiber diets (n = 10). In all samples, we identified a total of 281 identifiable fungal genera, with Ascomycota and Microsporidia being the most abundant fungi. Compared to Duroc pigs, Taoyuan and Xiangcun pigs had higher fungal richness. Interestingly, the fiber diet significantly reduced the abundance of the pathogenic fungus Mucor and significantly increased the abundance of the fiber digestion-associated fungus Neocallimastix. Pathogenic fungi exert their pathogenicity through the genes they carry that are associated with host pathogenicity. Therefore, we obtained 839 pathogenicity genes carried by the spectrum of fungi in the pig intestine by comparing the PHI-base database. Our results showed that fungi in the colon of Taoyuan pigs carried the highest abundance of different classes of host pathogenicity-related genes, and the lowest in Duroc pigs. Specifically, Taoyuan pigs carried high abundance of animal pathogenicity-related genes (CaTUP1, CPAR2_106400, CaCDC35, Tfp1, CaMNT2), and CaTUP1 was the key gene for Candida pathogenicity. The intestinal fungal composition of crossbred Xiangcun pigs and the abundance of host pathogenicity-associated genes they carried exhibited a mixture of characteristics of Taoyuan and Duroc pigs. In conclusion, our results provide the first comprehensive report on the effects of dietary fiber and genetics on the composition of intestinal fungi and the host-associated pathogenicity genes they carry in pigs. These findings provide a reference for subsequent pig breeding and development of anti-pathogenic fungal drugs.

Comparison between the gut bacterial community of laboratory cultured and wild Daphnia.

The fitness of an organism is often impacted by the composition and biological activity of its associated bacterial community. Many factors, including host genetics, diet, and temperature can influence the bacterial community composition. Furthermore, these factors can differ strongly between natural and laboratory environments. Consequently, several studies have highlighted results from laboratory experiments investigating host-associated bacterial communities to be conflicting with those obtained under field conditions. Here, we compared the Daphnia magna gut bacterial communities in natural host populations with those of laboratory cultured hosts. We further analyzed changes in the gut bacterial communities after transferring hosts from natural populations to the laboratory on the short- and long-term. Results show that, in general, the gut bacterial communities from natural populations differ from those of laboratory cultures and that their composition and diversity changed one hour after being transferred to the laboratory. Over the following 14 days, the composition and diversity changed gradually. On the longer term (after two years of rearing hosts in the laboratory) the composition and diversity of the gut bacterial communities was strongly altered compared to the initial state. Our findings indicate that the gut bacterial communities of Daphnia magna in laboratory experiments is not representative for natural field conditions, and that caution should be taken when interpreting results from laboratory experiments for natural settings.

The global anaerobic metabolism regulator fnr is necessary for the degradation of food dyes and drugs by Escherichia coli.

This work has broad relevance due to the ubiquity of dyes containing azo bonds in food and drugs. We report that azo dyes can be degraded by human gut bacteria through both enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms, even from a single gut bacterial species. Furthermore, we revealed that environmental factors, oxygen, and L-Cysteine control the ability of E. coli to degrade azo dyes due to their impacts on bacterial transcription and metabolism. These results open up new opportunities to manipulate the azoreductase activity of the gut microbiome through the manipulation of host diet, suggest that azoreductase potential may be altered in patients suffering from gastrointestinal disease, and highlight the importance of studying bacterial enzymes for drug metabolism in their natural cellular and ecological context.

Fiber supplementation protects from antibiotic-induced gut microbiome dysbiosis by modulating gut redox potential

Antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis (AID) is a frequent and serious side effect of antibiotic use and mitigating this dysbiosis is a critical therapeutic target. We propose that the host diet can modulate the chemical environment of the gut resulting in changes to the structure and function of the microbiome during antibiotic treatment. Gut dysbiosis is typically characterized by increases in aerobic respiratory bacterial metabolism, redox potential, and abundance of Proteobacteria. In this study, we explore dietary fiber supplements as potential modulators of the chemical environment in the gut to reduce this pattern of dysbiosis. Using defined-diets and whole-genome sequencing of female murine microbiomes during diet modulation and antibiotic treatment, we find that fiber prebiotics significantly reduced the impact of antibiotic treatment on microbiome composition and function. We observe reduced abundance of aerobic bacteria as well as metabolic pathways associated with oxidative metabolism. These metatranscriptomic results are corroborated by chemical measurements of eH and pH suggesting that fiber dampens the dysbiotic effects of antibiotics. This work indicates that fiber may act as a potential therapeutic for AID by modulating bacterial metabolism in the gut to prevent an increase in redox potential and protect commensal microbes during antibiotic treatment.

You are what your host eats: The trophic structure and food chain length of a symbiont community are coupled with the plastic diet of the host ant.

Food chain length provides key information on the flow of nutrients and energy in ecosystems. Variation in food chain length has primarily been explained by environmental drivers such as ecosystem size and productivity. Most insights are obtained from theory or aquatic systems, but the importance of these drivers remains largely untested in terrestrial systems. We exploited red wood ant nests markedly differing in size as natural experiments to quantify the drivers of trophic structure and food chain length of their symbiont arthropod communities. Using stable isotopes, we explored the variation in the trophic positions of four symbiont species with the trophic position of the top predator as a proxy for food chain length of the symbiont community. Nest size did not affect food chain length, nor trophic distance between the symbionts. Instead, food chain length and the trophic positions of the symbionts were strongly affected by the host's foraging decisions. When the host diet shifted from predominantly herbivorous to more predacious, the trophic position of the symbionts and food chain length strongly increased. We show for the first time that a food web can be structured by biotic interactions with an engineering species rather than by abiotic environmental variables.

Social networking at the microbiome-host interface.

Microbial species colonizing host ecosystems in health or disease rarely do so alone. Organisms conglomerate into dynamic heterotypic communities or biofilms in which interspecies and interkingdom interactions drive functional specialization of constituent species and shape community properties, including nososymbiocity or pathogenic potential. Cell-to-cell binding, exchange of signaling molecules, and nutritional codependencies can all contribute to the emergent properties of these communities. Spatial constraints defined by community architecture also determine overall community function. Multilayered interactions thus occur between individual pairs of organisms, and the relative impact can be determined by contextual cues. Host responses to heterotypic communities and impact on host surfaces are also driven by the collective action of the community. Additionally, the range of interspecies interactions can be extended by bacteria utilizing host cells or host diet to indirectly or directly influence the properties of other organisms and the community microenvironment. In contexts where communities transition to a dysbiotic state, their quasi-organismal nature imparts adaptability to nutritional availability and facilitates resistance to immune effectors and, moreover, exploits inflammatory and acidic microenvironments for their persistence.

Selective protein self-deprivation by Mormon crickets following fungal attack

Immune responses to infection result in behavioral changes that affect resource acquisition, such as general starvation and compensatory feeding to offset changes in resource allocation. Mormon crickets aggregate and march in bands containing millions of insects. Some bands are comprised of insects seeking proteins. They are also low in circulating phenoloxidase (PO) and more susceptible to fungal attack, as we have demonstrated in the lab. Here, we ask: Do Mormon crickets elevate PO and consume protein in response to infection by the pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana? B. bassiana was applied topically (day 0), and mortality began on day 5. Total protein, PO, and prophenoloxidase (proPO) were assayed in hemolymph on day 1 and 4. On day 1, PO titers were not different between inoculated and control insects, whereas by day 4, PO was greater in the inoculated group. proPO activity was unchanged. Circulating protein declined in inoculated insects relative to controls. As predicted, PO titers were elevated as a result of fungal infection, and hemolymph protein was reduced, but the insects did not compensate behaviorally. Indeed, during the first three days post-infection, infected insects reduced protein consumption while maintaining carbohydrate consumption similar to the controls. Following day 3, a more general reduction in protein and carbohydrate intake was evident in infected insects. Survivorship to infection was associated with the amount of protein consumed and unrelated to carbohydrate consumption. Selective protein deprivation by the host seems counterintuitive, but it might limit growth and toxin production by the invading fungus. Alternatively, the fungus might control the host diet to compromise host immunity to infection. Abrupt changes in allocation resulting from an infection can lead to changes in acquisition that are not always intuitive. Because protein acquisition drives aggression between members of the migratory band, B. bassiana application may reduce cannibalism and slow band movement.

Helminth parasitic ecology in Gymnodactylus geckoides Spix, 1825 (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) from Caatinga domain, north-eastern Brazil

ABSTRACT Gymnodactylus geckoides is an endemic lizard from the Caatinga domain. However, the relationship of G. geckoides with its parasites remains largely unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the helminth fauna of G. geckoides in a Caatinga fragment and determine the influence of factors such as host morphology, sex, diet and seasonality on parasite load. The study was conducted at the Conservation Unit (CU) of the Catimbau National Park located in Catimbau, Pernambuco, north-eastern Brazil. In total, 83 individuals were captured, among which 43 (51.8%) were infected by the following helminths: Acanthocephala cystacanths (prevalence, 47%; mean intensity, 2 ± 3.99; mean abundance, 1.61 ± 3.25) and the nematodes Parapharyngodon alvarengai (prevalence, 15.7%; mean intensity, 1 ± 0.74; mean abundance, 0.25 ± 0.66), Physaloptera lutzi (prevalence, 2.4%; mean intensity, 4 ± 1.00; mean abundance, 0.10 ± 0.64) Physaloptera sp. (prevalence, 4.8%; mean intensity, 1 ± 0.00; mean abundance, 0.05 ± 0.24), and Spauligodon oxkutzcabiensis (prevalence, 3.6%; mean intensity, 1 ± 0.94; mean abundance, 0.06 ± 0.36). A significantly positive relationship was found between the intensity of infection by the most prevalent helminth (which belonged to Acanthocephala) and host morphology (snoutvent length) (β ± SE = 6.421 ± 1.555, z = 4.128, p < .001), as well as prey type (β ± SE = 0.256 ± 0.078, z = 3.251, p < .001). Acanthocephala infection had a higher intensity during the rainy season (Analysis of Variance1,81: p < .01) in both female and male hosts (ANOVA1,73: p = 0.21). The present study is the first to identify the ecological patterns of the host–parasite relationships of G. geckoides. The results of this study contribute to the knowledge of the parasitic fauna of lizards in the Neotropical region. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0C037904-257A-40E1-9460-487B9FAFE786

Relationship between Oat Consumption, Gut Microbiota Modulation, and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Synthesis: An Integrative Review.

The gut microbiota consists of a set of microorganisms that colonizes the intestine and ferment fibers, among other nutrients, from the host's diet. A healthy gut microbiota, colonized mainly by beneficial microorganisms, has a positive effect on digestion and plays a role in disease prevention. However, dysregulation of the gut microbiota can contribute to various diseases. The nutrition of the host plays an important role in determining the composition of the gut microbiota. A healthy diet, rich in fiber, can beneficially modulate the gut microbiota. In this sense, oats are a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Oats are considered a functional ingredient with prebiotic potential and contain plant proteins, unsaturated fats, and antioxidant compounds. The impact of oat consumption on the gut microbiota is still emerging. Associations between oat consumption and the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, Roseburia, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii have already been observed. Therefore, this integrative review summarizes the findings from studies on the relationship between oat consumption, the gut microbiota, and the metabolites, mainly short-chain fatty acids, it produces.