Seasonal Effects on the Fecal Microbial Composition of Wild Greater Thick-Tailed Galagos (Otolemur crassicaudatus)
Seasonal Effects on the Fecal Microbial Composition of Wild Greater Thick-Tailed Galagos (Otolemur crassicaudatus)
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DOI：
10.1007/s10764-023-00407-1
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发表时间：
2023-11-28
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Tordiffe，Adrian Stephen Wolferstan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Long，Channen;Scheun，Juan;Tordiffe，Adrian Stephen Wolferstan
宿主消化道中存在的细菌群落对于宿主所需营养的分解和吸收是重要的。饮食和环境的变化是影响粪便微生物群组成和多样性的主要因素。除了环境温度和降雨量的变化外，生活在季节性温带环境中的灵长类还需要适应食物资源数量和质量的季节性变化。然而，与其他灵长类动物相比，非洲链鼻目动物的粪便微生物群缺乏相关信息。在南非拉朱马研究中心，我们研究了季节性饮食和环境变化对野生粗尾Galagos(Otolemur Crassicaudatus)粪便微生物α多样性和组成的影响。我们收集了粪便样本，评估了一年中夏季和冬季的食物可获得性和天气，并使用16S rRNA下一代测序来表征49只动物的粪便微生物群。我们发现，与冬季相比，夏季的降雨量、环境温度和食物可获得性显著增加。然而，我们发现在两个季节之间，粪便样本中存在的身体质量或细菌物种的整体多样性没有显著变化。我们发现，冬季某些细菌家族的丰度显著下降，这表明饮食发生了变化。我们的发现表明，较大的厚尾Galagos可以找到食物资源，以保持全年的身体质量。我们对大厚尾Galago季节性粪便微生物群的洞察增加了对灵长类粪便微生物群的日益增长的认识和理解，以及它们如何帮助灵长类应对环境的变化。
Bacterial communities present in the host digestive tract are important for the breakdown and absorption of nutrients required by the host. Changes in diet and the environment are major factors affecting the composition and diversity of the fecal microbiome. In addition to changes in ambient temperature and rainfall, primates living in seasonal temperate environments also need to adapt to seasonal changes in food resource quantity and quality. However, there is a lack of information about the fecal microbiome in African strepsirrhines relative to other primate taxa. We examined the effects of seasonal dietary and environmental changes on fecal microbial alpha diversity and composition in wild greater thick-tailed galagos (Otolemur crassicaudatus) at Lajuma Research Centre, South Africa. We collected fecal samples and assessed food availability and weather in summer and winter across 1 year and used 16S rRNA next-generation sequencing to characterise the fecal microbiome of 49 animals. We found significant increases in rainfall, ambient temperature, and food availability in summer compared with winter. However, we found no significant changes in body mass or in the overall diversity of bacterial species present in fecal samples between the two seasons. We found significant decreases in the abundance of certain bacterial families in winter, suggesting a change in diet. Our findings suggest that greater thick-tailed galagos can find food resources to maintain their body mass throughout the year. Our insights into the seasonal fecal microbiome of greater thick-tailed galagos add to the growing knowledge and understanding of fecal microbiomes in primates and how they help primates cope with changes to their environments.