A1 Journal article (refereed)
Effects of past and present habitat on the gut microbiota of a wild rodent (2024)

Scholier, T., Lavrinienko, A., Kallio, E. R., Watts, P. C., & Mappes, T. (2024). Effects of past and present habitat on the gut microbiota of a wild rodent. Proceedings of the Royal Society B : biological sciences, 291(2016). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2531

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Scholier, Tiffany; Lavrinienko, Anton; Kallio, Eva R.; Watts, Phillip C.; Mappes, Tapio

Journal or series: Proceedings of the Royal Society B : biological sciences

ISSN: 0962-8452

eISSN: 1471-2954

Publication year: 2024

Publication date: 07/02/2024

Volume: 291

Issue number: 2016

Publisher: Royal Society Publishing

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2531

Research data link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA933136/

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/94042

Publication is parallel published: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10846943/

Additional information: The R code (accessible at https://github.com/TScholier/rt-voles-workflow) and the input files are available to download at Zenodo: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10411165.

Abstract

The response of the gut microbiota to changes in the host environment can be influenced by both the host's past and present habitats. To quantify their contributions for two different life stages, we studied the gut microbiota of wild bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) by performing a reciprocal transfer experiment with adults and their newborn offspring between urban and rural forests in a boreal ecosystem. Here, we show that the post-transfer gut microbiota in adults did not shift to resemble the post-transfer gut microbiota of animals 'native' to the present habitat. Instead, their gut microbiota appear to be structured by both their past and present habitat, with some features of the adult gut microbiota still determined by the past living environment (e.g. alpha diversity, compositional turnover). By contrast, we did not find evidence of the maternal past habitat (maternal effects) affecting the post-transfer gut microbiota of the juvenile offspring, and only a weak effect of the present habitat. Our results show that both the contemporary living environment and the past environment of the host organism can structure the gut microbiota communities, especially in adult individuals. These data are relevant for decision-making in the field of conservation and wildlife translocations.

Keywords: rodents; gastrointestinal microbiota; microbiome; resistance (medicine); living environment; habitat; translocation (plants and animals)

Free keywords: flexibility; gut microbiota; reciprocal transfer experiment; resistance; translocation; urban

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Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2024

Preliminary JUFO rating: 3