Environmental Sources of Bacteria and Genetic Variation in Behavior Influence Host-Associated Microbiota.

ABSTRACT: In many organisms, host-associated microbial communities are acquired horizontally after birth. This process is believed to be shaped by a combination of environmental and host genetic factors. We examined whether genetic variation in animal behavior could affect the composition of the animal's microbiota in different environments. The freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna is primarily planktonic but exhibits variation in the degree to which it browses in benthic sediments. We performed an experiment with clonal lines of D. magna showing different levels of sediment-browsing intensity exposed to either bacteria-rich or bacteria-poor sediment or whose access to sediments was prevented. We found that the bacterial composition of the environment and genotype-specific browsing inte

SUBMITTER: Mushegian AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6450018 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature