Commensal protists in reptiles display flexible host range and adaptation to ectothermic hosts.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Environmental factors like climate change and captive breeding can impact the gut microbiota and host health. Therefore, conservation efforts for threatened species may benefit from understanding how these factors influence animal microbiomes. Parabasalid protists are members of the mammalian microbiota that can modulate the immune system and impact susceptibility to infections. However, little is known about parabasalids in reptiles. Here, we profile reptile-associated parabasalids in wild and captive reptiles and find that captivity has minimal impact on parabasalid prevalence or diversity. However, because reptiles are cold-blooded (ectothermic), their microbiotas experience wider temperature fluctuation than microbes in warm-blooded animals. To investigate whether ex

SUBMITTER: Gerrick ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10746265 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature