The Effects of Captivity on the Mammalian Gut Microbiome.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies increasingly note the effect of captivity or the built environment on the microbiome of humans and other animals. As symbiotic microbes are essential to many aspects of biology (e.g., digestive and immune functions), it is important to understand how lifestyle differences can impact the microbiome, and, consequently, the health of hosts. Animals living in captivity experience a range of changes that may influence the gut bacteria, such as diet changes, treatments, and reduced contact with other individuals, species and variable environmental substrates that act as sources of bacterial diversity. Thus far, initial results from previous studies point to a pattern of decreased bacterial diversity in captive animals. However, these studies are relatively limited in the scope of

SUBMITTER: McKenzie VJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5978021 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature