Gut microbiota plasticity in insular lizards under reversed island syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Animals living on small islands are more drastically exposed to environmental changes, such as food or water starvation, and rapid temperature shifts. Facing such conditions, and probably thank to adaptive plasticity mechanisms, some animals display a Reversed Island Syndrome (RIS), a suite of traits, including skin pigmentation, voracity, sexual dimorphism, showed differently from mainland relatives. Here, we analyse a so far poorly explored aspect of RIS: the effect of this on the microbiota composition of host Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus), strongly influenced by the animal's lifestyle, and conditioning the same. We compare mainland and island populations, assessing the difference between their microbial communities and their response under unexpected food, experimentally provi

SUBMITTER: Buglione M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9314426 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature