Social groups constrain the spatiotemporal dynamics of wild sifaka gut microbiomes.

ABSTRACT: Primates acquire gut microbiota from conspecifics through direct social contact and shared environmental exposures. Host behaviour is a prominent force in structuring gut microbial communities, yet the extent to which group or individual-level forces shape the long-term dynamics of gut microbiota is poorly understood. We investigated the effects of three aspects of host sociality (social groupings, dyadic interactions, and individual dispersal between groups) on gut microbiome composition and plasticity in 58 wild Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) from six social groups. Over the course of three dry seasons in a 5-year period, the six social groups maintained distinct gut microbial signatures, with the taxonomic composition of individual communities changing in tandem among coresid

SUBMITTER: Perofsky AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8665069 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature