Taxonomic, Genomic, and Functional Variation in the Gut Microbiomes of Wild Spotted Hyenas Across 2 Decades of Study.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiome provides vital functions for mammalian hosts, yet research on its variability and function across adult life spans and multiple generations is limited in large mammalian carnivores. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic high-throughput sequencing to profile the bacterial taxonomic composition, genomic diversity, and metabolic function of fecal samples collected from 12 wild spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) residing in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, over a 23-year period spanning three generations. The metagenomic data came from four of these hyenas and spanned two 2-year periods. With these data, we determined the extent to which host factors predicted variation in the gut microbiome and identified the core microbes present in the guts of hyenas. We

SUBMITTER: Rojas CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9948708 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature