Functional and Compositional Changes in the Fecal Microbiome of a Shorebird during Migratory Stopover.

ABSTRACT: Shorebirds migrate long distances twice annually, which requires intense physiological and morphological adaptations, including the ability to rapidly gain weight via fat deposition at stopover locations. The role of the microbiome in weight gain in avian hosts is unresolved, but there is substantial evidence to support the hypothesis that the microbiome is involved with host weight from mammalian microbiome literature. Here, we collected 100 fecal samples of Ruddy Turnstones to investigate microbiome composition and function during stopover weight gain in Delaware Bay, USA. Using 16S rRNA sequencing on 90 of these samples and metatranscriptomic sequencing on 22, we show that taxonomic composition of the microbiome shifts during weight gain, as do functional aspects of the metatranscriptom

SUBMITTER: Grond K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10134852 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature