The gut microbiota and Bergmann's rule in wild house mice.

ABSTRACT: The extent to which the gut microbiota may play a role in latitudinal clines of body mass variation (i.e., Bergmann's rule) remains largely unexplored. Here, we collected wild house mice from three latitudinal transects across North and South America and investigated the relationship between variation in the gut microbiota and host body mass by combining field observations and common garden experiments. First, we found that mice in the Americas follow Bergmann's rule, with increasing body mass at higher latitudes. Second, we found that overall differences in the gut microbiota were associated with variation in body mass controlling for the effects of latitude. Then, we identified specific microbial measurements that show repeated associations with body mass in both wild-caught and laborato

SUBMITTER: Suzuki TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8073627 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature