Gut microbiota variation between climatic zones and due to migration strategy in passerine birds

0569882 - ÚBO 2024 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Schmiedová, Lucie - Kreisinger, J. - Kubovčiak, J. - Těšický, M. - Martin, J.-F. - Tomášek, Oldřich - Kauzálová, Tereza - Sedláček, O. - Albrecht, Tomáš
Gut microbiota variation between climatic zones and due to migration strategy in passerine birds.
Frontiers in Microbiology. Roč. 14, February (2023), č. článku 1080017. ISSN 1664-302X. E-ISSN 1664-302X
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-24782S
Research Infrastructure: e-INFRA CZ II - 90254
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : faecal microbiome * gastrointestinal tract * metabarcoding * climatic zones * passerine birds
OECD category: Ornithology
Impact factor: 5.2, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1080017/full

Introduction: Decreasing biotic diversity with increasing latitude is an almost universal macroecological pattern documented for a broad range of taxa, however, there have been few studies focused on changes in gut microbiota (GM) across climatic zones.
Methods: Using 16S rRNA amplicon profiling, we analyzed GM variation between temperate (Czechia) and tropical (Cameroon) populations of 99 passerine bird species and assessed GM similarity of temperate species migrating to tropical regions with that of residents/short-distance migrants and tropical residents. Our study also considered the possible influence of diet on GM.
Results: We observed no consistent GM diversity differences between tropical and temperate species. In the tropics, GM composition varied substantially between dry and rainy seasons and only a few taxa exhibited consistent differential abundance between tropical and temperate zones, irrespective of migration behavior and seasonal GM changes. During the breeding season, trans-Saharan migrant GM diverged little from species not overwintering in the tropics and did not show higher similarity to tropical passerines than temperate residents/short-distance migrants. Interestingly, GM of two temperate-breeding trans-Saharan migrants sampled in the tropical zone matched that of tropical residents and converged with other temperate species during the breeding season. Diet had a slight effect on GM composition of tropical species, but no effect on GM of temperate hosts.
Discussion: Consequently, our results demonstrate extensive passerine GM plasticity, the dominant role of environmental factors in its composition and limited effect of diet.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0341222