Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes: captivity changes the gut microbiota composition and diversity in a social subterranean rodent.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In mammals, the gut microbiota has important effects on the health of their hosts. Recent research highlights that animal populations that live in captivity often differ in microbiota diversity and composition from wild populations. However, the changes that may occur when animals move to captivity remain difficult to predict and factors generating such differences are poorly understood. Here we compare the bacterial gut microbiota of wild and captive Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis) originating from a population in the southern Kalahari Desert to characterise the changes of the gut microbiota that occur from one generation to the next generation in a long-lived, social rodent species.

Results

We found a clear divergence in the composition of the gut micr

SUBMITTER: Bensch HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9912604 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature