Gut microbiome reflect adaptation of earthworms to cave and surface environments.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Caves are special natural laboratories for most biota and the cave communities are unique. Establishing population in cave is accompanied with modifications in adaptability for most animals. To date, little is known about the survival mechanisms of soil animals in cave environments, albeit they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we investigated whether and how gut microbes would contribute to the adaptation of earthworms by comparing the gut microbiome of two earthworm species from the surface and caves.

Results

Two dominant earthworm species inhabited caves, i.e., Allolobophora chlorotica and Aporrectodea rosea. Compared with the counterparts on the surface, A. rosea significantly decreased population in the cave, while A. chlorotica didn't ch

SUBMITTER: Gong X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9356433 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature