The intestinal environment as an evolutionary adaptation to mouthbrooding in the Astatotilapia burtoni cichlid.

ABSTRACT: Many of the various parental care strategies displayed by animals are accompanied by a significant reduction in food intake that imposes a substantial energy trade-off. Mouthbrooding, as seen in several species of fish in which the parent holds the developing eggs and fry in the buccal cavity, represents an extreme example of reduced food intake during parental investment and is accompanied by a range of physiological adaptations. In this study we use 16S sequencing to characterize the gut microbiota of female Astatotilapia burtoni cichlid fish throughout the obligatory phase of self-induced starvation during the brooding cycle in comparison to stage-matched females that have been denied food for the same duration. In addition to a reduction of gut epithelial turnover, we find a dramatic r

SUBMITTER: Faber-Hammond JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7137464 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature