Captivity causes taxonomic and functional convergence of gut microbial communities in bats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diet plays a crucial role in sculpting microbial communities. Similar diets appear to drive convergence of gut microbial communities between host species. Captivity usually provides an identical diet and environment to different animal species that normally have similar diets. Whether different species' microbial gut communities can be homogenized by a uniform diet in captivity remains unclear.

Methods

In this study, we compared gut microbial communities of three insectivorous bat species (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Vespertilio sinensis, and Hipposideros armiger) in captivity and in the wild using 16S rDNA sequencing. In captivity, R. ferrumequinum and V. sinensis were fed yellow mealworms, while H. armiger was fed giant m

SUBMITTER: Xiao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6499062 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature