Faecal Microbiota Divergence in Allopatric Populations of Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis, Two Lizard Species Endemic to the Balearic Islands.

ABSTRACT: Gut microbial communities provide essential functions to their hosts and are known to influence both their ecology and evolution. However, our knowledge of these complex associations is still very limited in reptiles. Here we report the 16S rRNA gene faecal microbiota profiles of two lizard species endemic to the Balearic archipelago (Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis), encompassing their allopatric range of distribution through a noninvasive sampling, as an alternative to previous studies that implied killing specimens of these IUCN endangered and near-threatened species, respectively. Both lizard species showed a faecal microbiome composition consistent with their omnivorous trophic ecology, with a high representation of cellulolytic bacteria taxa. We also identified species-specific

SUBMITTER: Alemany I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10167182 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature