Ecology, Not Host Phylogeny, Shapes the Oral Microbiome in Closely Related Species.

ABSTRACT: Host-associated microbiomes are essential for a multitude of biological processes. Placed at the contact zone between external and internal environments, the little-studied oral microbiome has important roles in host physiology and health. Here, we investigate the roles of host evolutionary relationships and ecology in shaping the oral microbiome in three closely related gorilla subspecies (mountain, Grauer's, and western lowland gorillas) using shotgun metagenomics of 46 museum-preserved dental calculus samples. We find that the oral microbiomes of mountain gorillas are functionally and taxonomically distinct from the other two subspecies, despite close evolutionary relationships and geographic proximity with Grauer's gorillas. Grauer's gorillas show intermediate bacterial taxonomic and f

SUBMITTER: Moraitou M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9778846 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature