PINWORMS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH TAXONOMIC BUT NOT FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE GUT MICROBIOME OF WHITE-THROATED WOODRATS (NEOTOMA ALBIGULA).

ABSTRACT: Vertebrates rely on their gut microbiome for digestion, and changes to gut microbial communities can impact host health. Past work, primarily in model organisms, has revealed that endoparasites disrupt the gut microbiome. Here, using wild-caught white-throated woodrats (Neotoma albigula), we tested whether naturally acquired parasite infections are associated with different microbiome structure and function. We surveyed wild N. albigula in eastern Utah for gastrointestinal parasites in the spring and fall of 2019, using traditional fecal float methods and testing a PCR-based approach to detect infection. We tested whether the host gut microbiome structure and function differed based on infection with the most prevalent parasite, the pinworm Lamotheoxyuris ackerti. In spring, infected and u

SUBMITTER: Doolin ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12175281 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature