Avian Malaria Parasites Modulate Gut Microbiome Assembly in Canaries.

ABSTRACT: Rodent and human malaria parasites cause dysbiosis in the host gut microbiome, but whether Plasmodium species affecting birds cause dysbiosis in their hosts is currently unknown. Here we used a model of avian malaria infection to test whether parasite infection modulates the bird microbiome. To this aim, bird fecal microbiomes were characterized at different time points after infection of canaries with the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium homocircumflexum. Avian malaria caused no significant changes in the alpha and beta diversity of the microbiome in infected birds. In contrast, we discovered changes in the composition and abundance of several taxa. Co-occurrence networks were used to characterize the assembly of the microbiome and trajectories of microbiome structural stat

SUBMITTER: Azelyte J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10056159 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature