The effect of diet on the gastrointestinal microbiome of juvenile rehabilitating green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
The effect of diet on the gastrointestinal microbiome of juvenile rehabilitating green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0227060
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发表时间：
2020-01-15
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Norton, Terry M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bloodgood, Jennifer C. G.;Hernandez, Sonia M.;Norton, Terry M.
受到威胁和濒临灭绝的绿海龟是独一无二的，因为作为幼体，它们从远洋水域招募到近岸水域，并从杂食性食物转变为主要食草性食物(即海草和藻类)。然而，当受伤和患病的动物接受康复治疗时，通常会提供动物蛋白(例如海鲜)来对抗食欲不佳和消瘦。我们研究了在康复过程中，幼年绿海龟的粪便微生物群如何随着饮食的改变而发生变化。我们收集了2014年1月至2016年1月在佐治亚州海龟中心康复的海龟(N=17)的粪便样本，并使用下一代测序分析细菌群落组成。样本在入院、康复中期和康复时收集，这需要从入院时的海鲜-蔬菜混合饮食转变为康复时的主要食草性饮食。随着时间的推移，优势菌门发生了变化，从入院时以类杆菌为主(55.0%)，类杆菌较少(11.4%)，恢复时以类杆菌为主(38.4%)，较少类杆菌(31.8%)。虽然微生物群可能会随着个体健康状况的变化而变化，但类杆菌和类杆菌在个体中的持续倒置可能反映了对蛋白质消化的需求增加，对蛋白质消化来说，类杆菌是重要的。在代谢植物多糖方面，菲米米特很重要；因此，更少的菲米库特可能会导致被释放的个体对野生食物的利用不足。这项研究证明了尽快将正在恢复的绿海龟转变为草食食物的重要性，以使它们获得最大的生存概率。
Threatened and endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are unique because as juveniles they recruit from pelagic to near-shore waters and shift from an omnivorous to primarily herbivorous diet (i.e. seagrass and algae). Nevertheless, when injured and ill animals are admitted to rehabilitation, animal protein (e.g. seafood) is often offered to combat poor appetite and emaciation. We examined how the fecal microbiome of juvenile green turtles changed in response to a dietary shift during rehabilitation. We collected fecal samples from January 2014 -January 2016 from turtles (N = 17) in rehabilitation at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and used next generation sequencing to analyze bacterial community composition. Samples were collected at admission, mid-rehabilitation, and recovery, which entailed a shift from a mixed seafood-vegetable diet at admission to a primarily herbivorous diet at recovery. The dominant phyla changed over time, from primarily Firmicutes (55.0%) with less Bacteroidetes (11.4%) at admission, to primarily Bacteroidetes (38.4%) and less Firmicutes (31.8%) at recovery. While the microbiome likely shifts with the changing health status of individuals, this consistent inversion of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes among individuals likely reflects the increased need for protein digestion, for which Bacteroidetes are important. Firmicutes are significant in metabolizing plant polysaccharides; thus, fewer Firmicutes may result in underutilization of wild diet items in released individuals. This study demonstrates the importance of transitioning rehabilitating green turtles to an herbivorous diet as soon as possible to afford them the best probability of survival.