Functional Insights Into the Effect of Feralisation on the Gut Microbiota of Cats Worldwide.

ABSTRACT: Successfully adapting to a feral lifestyle with different access to food, shelter and other resources requires rapid physiological and behavioural changes, which could potentially be facilitated by gut microbiota plasticity. To investigate whether alterations in gut microbiota support this transition to a feral lifestyle, we analysed the gut microbiomes of domestic and feral cats from six geographically diverse locations using genome-resolved metagenomics. By reconstructing 229 non-redundant metagenome-assembled genomes from 92 cats, we identified a typical carnivore microbiome structure, with notable diversity and taxonomic differences across regions. While overall diversity metrics did not differ significantly between domestic and feral cats, hierarchical modelling of species communities

SUBMITTER: Aizpurua O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11874672 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature