Is Habitat More Important than Phylogenetic Relatedness for Elucidating the Gut Bacterial Composition in Sister Lizard Species?

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiota influences the phenotype and fitness of a host; however, limited information is currently available on the diversity and functions of the gut microbiota in wild animals. Therefore, we herein examined the diversity, composition, and potential functions of the gut microbiota in three Sceloporus lizards: Sceloporus aeneus, S. bicanthalis, and S. grammicus, inhabiting different habitats in a mountainous ecosystem. The gut bacterial community of S. bicanthalis from alpine grasslands at 4,150‍ ‍m a.s.l. exhibited greater taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional alpha diversities than its sister species S. aeneus from cornfields and human-induced grasslands at 2,600‍ ‍m‍ ‍a.s.l. Bacteria of the genus Blautia and metabolic functions related to the degradation of aromatic compound

SUBMITTER: Hernandez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9530725 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature