Age and sex-associated variation in the multi-site microbiome of an entire social group of free-ranging rhesus macaques.

ABSTRACT:

Background

An individual's microbiome changes over the course of its lifetime, especially during infancy, and again in old age. Confounding factors such as diet and healthcare make it difficult to disentangle the interactions between age, health, and microbial changes in humans. Animal models present an excellent opportunity to study age- and sex-linked variation in the microbiome, but captivity is known to influence animal microbial abundance and composition, while studies of free-ranging animals are typically limited to studies of the fecal microbiome using samples collected non-invasively. Here, we analyze a large dataset of oral, rectal, and genital swabs collected from 105 free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, aged 1 month-26 years), comprising one entire social group,

SUBMITTER: Janiak MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7986251 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature