Abstract:
Studying how phylogeny influences the composition and functions of microbiotas within animal hosts is essential for gaining insights into the connection between genetics, ecology, and health in the animal kingdom. However, due to limited comprehensive studies, this influence remains unclear for many wild mammals, including Mexican pinnipeds. We employed 16S rRNA gene deep-sequencing to investigate the impact of phylogeny on the gut microbiota of four pinniped species inhabiting Mexican shores: the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), and the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi). Our results indicated that factors such as diets and shared life histories exerted more influence on microbiota composition than phylogeny alone. Notably, otariid species sharing similar life histories displayed greater microbiota similarity than phocids, which have distinct life histories and fewer microbiota similarities. Furthermore, harbor seals have more microbial similarities with the two otariid species than with elephant seals. Of particular concern, we observed a higher abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria (e.g., Photobacterium damselae and Clostridium perfringens) in harbor seals and Guadalupe fur seals compared to other pinnipeds. This finding could pose health threats to these species and nearby human populations.IMPORTANCEPinnipeds in Mexico host microbial communities that remain understudied. While several factors can influence microbiota composition, the role of phylogenetic relationships among these pinnipeds remains unclear due to limited knowledge of the microbiota in certain species. This study aimed to fill this gap by characterizing the composition and function of the gut microbiota in the four pinniped species that occur in Mexico. Our analysis reveals that shared diets and life histories contribute to similarities in the composition of gut microbial communities. This study also highlights the potential differences in the metabolic capabilities and adaptations within the gut microbiota of pinnipeds. Understanding how phylogeny impacts microbial communities enhances our insights into the evolutionary dynamics of marine mammals.
摘要:
研究系统发育如何影响动物宿主中微生物的组成和功能对于深入了解遗传学之间的联系至关重要。生态学,动物王国的健康。然而,由于有限的综合研究,这种影响对许多野生哺乳动物来说仍然不清楚,包括墨西哥针脚.我们采用16SrRNA基因深度测序来研究系统发育对居住在墨西哥海岸的四种尖顶物种的肠道微生物群的影响:太平洋海豹(Phocavitulinarichardii),北象海豹(Miroungaangustirostris),加利福尼亚海狮(Zalophuscalifornianus),和瓜达卢佩毛皮海豹(Arctocephalusphilippiitownsendi)。我们的结果表明,饮食和共同生活史等因素对微生物群组成的影响比单独的系统发育产生的影响更大。值得注意的是,具有相似生活史的奥塔丽科物种比台风表现出更大的微生物群相似性,它们有不同的生活史和较少的微生物群相似性。此外,与象海豹相比,港口海豹与两种奥塔利德物种有更多的微生物相似性。特别令人关注的是,我们观察到更高丰度的潜在致病细菌(例如,与其他pin足动物相比,海豹和瓜达卢佩海狗中的小细菌和产气荚膜梭菌)。这一发现可能对这些物种和附近的人群构成健康威胁。墨西哥的IMPORTANCEPinnipes宿主微生物群落仍未得到充分研究。虽然有几个因素可以影响微生物群组成,由于对某些物种中微生物群的了解有限,因此这些pinnipes之间的系统发育关系的作用尚不清楚。这项研究旨在通过表征墨西哥发生的四种尖顶物种中肠道微生物群的组成和功能来填补这一空白。我们的分析表明,共同的饮食和生活史有助于肠道微生物群落组成的相似性。这项研究还强调了in足动物肠道微生物群内代谢能力和适应性的潜在差异。了解系统发育如何影响微生物群落,增强了我们对海洋哺乳动物进化动力学的认识。