Gut microbiota plasticity in insular lizards under reversed island syndrome

Buglione, Maria; Ricca, Ezio; Petrelli, Simona; Baccigalupi, Loredana; Troiano, Claudia; Saggese, Anella; Rivieccio, Eleonora; Fulgione, Domenico

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-16955-0

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Host animals provide suitable habitats and sufficient nutrients for the survival of gut microorganisms, which, in turn, contribute to nutrient absorption [13], intestinal homeostasis [14], and energy balance [15] of the host by encoding more genes than the host genome [16]. Thus, gut microorganisms play a crucial role in host survival [17] and adaptation [18,19]. Temperature affects the composition and relative abundance of host gut microbiota [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiota differs between two cold-climate lizards distributed in thermally different regions

et al. 2022

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Background The metabolic cold-climate adaption hypothesis predicts that animals from cold environments have relatively high metabolic rates compared with their warm-climate counterparts. However, studies testing this hypothesis are sparse. Here, we compared gut microbes between two cold-climate lizard species of the genus Phrynocephalus to see if gut microbiota could help lizards adapt to cold environments by promoting metabolism. We conducted a 2 species (P. erythrurus and P. przewalskii) × 2 temperatures (24 and 30 °C) factorial design experiment, whereby we kept lizards of two Phrynocephalus species at 24 and 30 °C for 25 d and then collected their fecal samples to analyze and compare the microbiota based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. Results The gut microbiota was mainly composed of bacteria of the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Verrucomicrobia in both species (Proteobacteria > Firmicutes > Verrucomicrobiota in P. erythrurus, and Bacteroidetes > Proteobacteria > Firmicutes in P. przewalskii). Further analysis revealed that the gut microbiota promoted thermal adaptation in both lizard species, but with differences in the relative abundance of the contributory bacteria between the two species. An analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes revealed that the gut microbiota played important roles in metabolism, genetic information processing, cellular processes, and environmental information processing in both species. Furthermore, genes related to metabolism were more abundant in P. erythrurus at 24 °C than in other species ⋅ temperature combinations. Conclusion Our study provides evidence that gut microbiota promotes thermal adaptation in both species but more evidently in P. erythrurus using colder habitats than P. przewalskii all year round, thus confirming the role of gut microbiota in cold-climate adaptation in lizards.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiota differs between two cold-climate lizards distributed in thermally different regions

et al. 2022

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“…In both cases, this increases gut passage time [16]. Such morphological shifts are also accompanied by a diversification of the intestine helminth [22] and microbial communities [23,24] and by an increase in preferred temperatures [25,26]. However, increased plant consumption when prey availability is scarce is by no means restricted to islands (e.g., [27][28][29][30]), nor is it always dependent on arthropod abundance (e.g., [31]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary Variation Is Driven by Landscape Heterogeneity in an Insular Omnivorous Endemic Lizard, Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

2022

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Living on islands entails numerous challenges for animals, among which population density approaching the carrying capacity of trophic resources stands out. To overcome this limitation, many insular lizards can supplement their insectivorous diet with increasing portions of plant material. The Madeira wall lizard, Teira dugesii, is a medium-sized lacertid, endemic to the Madeira and Selvagens archipelagos. As common in this family, adults are sexually dimorphic with males being bigger than females. Previous dietary studies on morphological scatology identified a higher proportion of plant over animal prey items, changing according to the location and sex. Here, we used DNA metabarcoding to examine the diet of this lizard species quantifying it at a higher taxonomical resolution and enhancing the detection of soft-body prey that often go undetected in morphology-based studies. In a sample of 151 faecal samples from eight populations including different habitats and altitudes in Madeira, we identified 289 prey items belonging to eight animal and three plant Classes, encompassing 58 distinct orders and 140 families. Of these, 63 were identified up to the species level. The results support a strong trend towards herbivory in this species with plants representing almost 74% of the diet occurrences in contrast to the 26% of animal prey. Remarkably, the plant fraction of the diet remained stable across localities but varied with size and mass in males. As males grew bigger and heavier, they significantly increased their plant matter intake. Likely, larger bodies and abdomens allowed allocating longer and more complex digestive tracts harbouring intestinal flora to better decompose plant organic compounds. This allowed heavier animals to have a richer diet regime. However, diet richness and composition were not affected by either sex or size, while the locality had a significant effect on both diet components likely in response to local variation in prey availability. By including an increasing plant fraction into a primarily insectivorous diet, this insular lizard has not only enlarged its trophic niche but is also able to exploit more efficiently the highly variable resources provided by insular environments.

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“…PCR conditions were: 5 min at 95 °C, followed by 30 cycles of 95 °C for 30 s, 50 °C for 30 s, 72 °C for 30 s, concluding with an extension at 72 °C for 5 min. The PCR products were analyzed as previously reported [ 38 , 39 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Bacterioplankton Community Structure Crossing the Antarctic Circumpolar Current Fronts

et al. 2023

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The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is the major current in the Southern Ocean, isolating the warm stratified subtropical waters from the more homogeneous cold polar waters. The ACC flows from west to east around Antarctica and generates an overturning circulation by fostering deep-cold water upwelling and the formation of new water masses, thus affecting the Earth’s heat balance and the global distribution of carbon. The ACC is characterized by several water mass boundaries or fronts, known as the Subtropical Front (STF), Subantarctic Front (SAF), Polar Front (PF), and South Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF), identified by typical physical and chemical properties. While the physical characteristics of these fronts have been characterized, there is still poor information regarding the microbial diversity of this area. Here we present the surface water bacterioplankton community structure based on 16S rRNA sequencing from 13 stations sampled in 2017 between New Zealand to the Ross Sea crossing the ACC Fronts. Our results show a distinct succession in the dominant bacterial phylotypes present in the different water masses and suggest a strong role of sea surface temperatures and the availability of Carbon and Nitrogen in controlling community composition. This work represents an important baseline for future studies on the response of Southern Ocean epipelagic microbial communities to climate change.

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Gut microbiota plasticity in insular lizards under reversed island syndrome

Cited by 11 publications

References 82 publications

Gut microbiota differs between two cold-climate lizards distributed in thermally different regions

Gut microbiota differs between two cold-climate lizards distributed in thermally different regions

Dietary Variation Is Driven by Landscape Heterogeneity in an Insular Omnivorous Endemic Lizard, Revealed by DNA Metabarcoding

Surface Bacterioplankton Community Structure Crossing the Antarctic Circumpolar Current Fronts

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