Spatial Heterogeneity of Gut Microbial Composition along the Gastrointestinal Tract in Natural Populations of House Mice.

ABSTRACT: There is a growing appreciation of the role of gut microbial communities in host biology. However, the nature of variation in microbial communities among different segments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is not well understood. Here, we describe microbial communities from ten different segments of the GI tract (mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, ileum, proximal cecum, distal cecum, colon, rectum, and feces) in wild house mice using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We also measured carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic ratios from hair samples of individual mice as a proxy for diet. We identified factors that may explain differences in microbial composition among gut segments, and we tested for differences among individual mice in the composition of the microbiota. Consistent with pre

SUBMITTER: Suzuki TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5036816 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature