Gut microbiome biogeography in reindeer supersedes millennia of ecological and evolutionary separation.

ABSTRACT: Ruminants are dependent on their gut microbiomes for nutrient extraction from plant diets. However, knowledge about the composition, diversity, function, and spatial structure of gut microbiomes, especially in wild ruminants, is limited, largely because analysis has been restricted to faeces or the rumen. In two geographically separated reindeer subspecies, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed strong spatial structuring, and pronounced differences in microbial diversity of at least 33 phyla across the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine (including faeces). The main structural feature was the Bacteroidota to Firmicutes ratio, which declined from the stomach to the large intestine, likely reflecting functional adaptation. Metagenome shotgun sequencing also revealed highly sig

SUBMITTER: Kamenova S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10748473 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature