DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Biodiversity and community ecology of the gut microbiota in herbivores with respect to dietary toxins

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Some of the most important interactions that facilitate mammalian life are between mammals and the diverse communities of microbes that reside within their digestive tracts. Mammalian herbivores in particular exhibit the most diverse gut microbial communities, which are thought to conduct fiber fermentation and other nutritional processes to benefit the host. However, in addition to fiber, plants also produce plant secondary compounds that act as anti-herbivore defenses. It has long been proposed that mammalian herbivores might also house microbes that detoxify these toxic compounds. This proposal aims to advance our knowledge of the microbes that live within the guts of a group of herbivorous rodents: woodrats. Woodrats hold tremendous promise for understanding diversity and for discovery of novel detoxifying microbes and genes, as they feed on a variety of plants containing toxins that likely have shaped gut microbial diversity. Indeed, microbes do allow woodrats to consume plant toxins, and the consumption of these toxins strongly changes their gut microbial communities. The central objective of the proposed research is to understand the biodiversity and community ecology of the gut microbiota in herbivores with respect to dietary toxins. The research will specifically investigate how evolutionary history and exposure to dietary toxins influence the community genetics of foregut microbes in a wild herbivore, and how dietary toxins might alter resident gut microbial communities and allow for invasion by a novel community. This project will support the training of a graduate student in the emerging field of microbial metagenomics. In addition, high school and undergraduate students will be involved in the research and receive mentoring in the conduct of independent research. This project will support the development of an inquiry-based lecture geared towards the public, which will be presented at local schools and museums. Results from this research will identify important microbial genes associated with the detoxification of plant toxins, which could be useful in agricultural systems, especially in developing areas where livestock often need to feed on plants containing such toxins.