Sympatric Yaks and Plateau Pikas Promote Microbial Diversity and Similarity by the Mutual Utilization of Gut Microbiota.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between species provide the basis for understanding coexisting mechanisms. The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) and the yak (Bos grunniens) are considered competitors because they have shared habitats and consumed similar food on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau for more than 1 million years. Interestingly, the population density of plateau pikas increases with yak population expansion and subsequent overgrazing. To reveal the underlying mechanism, we sequenced the fecal microbial 16S rDNA from both sympatric and allopatric pikas and yaks. Our results indicated that sympatry increased both gut microbial diversity and similarity between pikas and yaks. The abundance of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Tenericutes decreased, while that of Verrucomicrobia

SUBMITTER: Fu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8467723 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature