Effects of diet, habitat, and phylogeny on the fecal microbiome of wild African savanna (Loxodonta africana) and forest elephants (L. cyclotis).

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiome, or the community of microorganisms inhabiting the digestive tract, is often unique to its symbiont and, in many animal taxa, is highly influenced by host phylogeny and diet. In this study, we characterized the gut microbiome of the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), sister taxa separated by 2.6-5.6 million years of independent evolution. We examined the effect of host phylogeny on microbiome composition. Additionally, we examined the influence of habitat types (forest versus savanna) and diet types (crop-raiding versus noncrop-raiding) on the microbiome within L. africana. We found 58 bacterial orders, representing 16 phyla, across all African elephant samples. The most common phyla we

SUBMITTER: Budd K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7319146 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature