Does the gut microbiota help a wild rodent achieve its thermal niche?
Main funder
Funder's project number: 349099
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 280 906,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/09/2022
Project end date: 31/08/2025
Summary
In this project, Dr. Lavrinienko will quantify the value of compositional and functional variations in the gut microbiota of bank voles inhabiting different eco-climatic zones (e.g. south vs. north populations) for host health (physiology) and performance (fitness) under different environmental conditions. A series of microbiota transplant experiments, manipulating bank vole gut microbiota composition in laboratory settings (Animal House facilities at JYU), will be used to uncover causal links (if any) between gut microbes and host acclimation capacity. In addition, overwinter experiments in large-scale outdoor enclosures (Konnevesi research station at JYU) will be used to measure breeding characteristics and individual fitness in the wild.
