Experimental bacterial adaptation to the zebrafish gut reveals a primary role for immigration.

ABSTRACT: All animals live in intimate association with microorganisms that profoundly influence their health and development, yet the traits that allow microorganisms to establish and maintain host associations are not well understood. To date, most investigations aimed at identifying traits required for host association have focused on intrahost niches. Consequently, little is known about the relative contribution of extrahost factors such as environmental growth and survival and immigration into hosts from the external environment, as promoters of host association. To address this, we developed a tractable experimental evolution system that investigates both intra- and extrahost factors contributing to bacterial adaptation to the vertebrate gut. We passaged replicate lines of a zebrafish bacteria

SUBMITTER: Robinson CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6301714 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature