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Moy M, Diakiw L, Amato KR. Human-influenced diets affect the gut microbiome of wild baboons. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11886. [PMID: 37482555 PMCID: PMC10363530 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38895-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Industrialized diets that incorporate processed foods and are often high in simple sugars and fats and low in fiber have myriad health impacts, many of which may operate via impacts on the gut microbiota. Examining how these diets affect the gut microbiota can be challenging given that lab animal models experience altered environmental contexts, and human studies include a suite of co-varying cultural and environmental factors that are likely to shape the gut microbiota alongside diet. To complement these approaches, we compare the microbiomes of wild populations of olive baboons (Papio anubis) with differential access to human trash high in processed foods, simple sugars, and fats in Rwanda's Akagera National Park. Baboons are a good model system since their microbiomes are compositionally similar to those of humans. Additionally, this population inhabits a common environment with different social groups consuming qualitatively different amounts of human trash, limiting variation in non-dietary factors. Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing we find that baboons with unlimited access to human trash have reduced microbial alpha diversity and reduced relative abundances of fiber-degrading taxa such as Ruminococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, and Lachnospiraceae. In contrast, baboons with limited access to human trash have a microbiome more similar to that of baboons with no access to human trash. Our results suggest that while a human-influenced diet high in processed foods, simple sugars, and fats is sufficient to alter the microbiome in wild baboons, there is a minimum threshold of dietary alteration that must occur before the microbiome is substantially altered. We recommend that data from wild primate populations such as these be used to complement ongoing research on diet-microbiome-health interactions in humans and lab animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madelyn Moy
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Laura Diakiw
- Department of Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
| | - Katherine R Amato
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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Behringer V, Müller-Klein N, Strube C, Schülke O, Heistermann M, Ostner J. Responsiveness of fecal immunoglobulin A to HPA-axis activation limits its use for mucosal immunity assessment. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23329. [PMID: 34554596 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The assessment of mucosal immunity as a component of animal health is an important aspect for the understanding of variation in host immunity, and its tradeoff against other life-history traits. We investigated immunoglobulin A (IgA), the major type of antibody associated with mucosal immunity, in relation to changes in parasitic burden following anthelminthic treatment in noninvasively collected fecal samples in a semi-free ranging group of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). We measured IgA in 340 fecal samples of fourteen females and nine males. As IgA has been found to be responsive to stressors, we also related fecal IgA (fIgA) levels to fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) measured in the same samples as part of a previous study. We found a high variability within and between individual fIgA levels over time. Running generalized additive mixed models, we found that fIgA levels were higher in males than in females, but did not change in response to the anthelmintic treatment and the resulting reduction in worm burden. Instead, fIgA level changes were significantly correlated to changes in fGCM levels. Our findings indicate that due to the strong responsiveness of fIgA to HPA-axis activity, the measurement of fIgA may have certain limitations with respect to reflecting gastrointestinal parasitic burden. Moreover, the responsiveness of fIgA to stressors interferes with the interpretation of IgA levels in fecal samples as a measure of mucosal immunity, at least in our study population of the Barbary macaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Behringer
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nadine Müller-Klein
- Institute for Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.,Research Group Social Evolution in Primates, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christina Strube
- Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany
| | - Oliver Schülke
- Research Group Social Evolution in Primates, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Behavioral Ecology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Michael Heistermann
- Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Ostner
- Research Group Social Evolution in Primates, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Behavioral Ecology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
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Reproductive and Stress Response Hormones of the Critically Endangered Southern Muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides: Atelidae) Under Captive Conditions. INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00240-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Ferreira SCM, Veiga MM, Hofer H, East ML, Czirják GÁ. Noninvasively measured immune responses reflect current parasite infections in a wild carnivore and are linked to longevity. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7685-7699. [PMID: 34188844 PMCID: PMC8216923 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Host immune defenses are important components of host-parasite interactions that affect the outcome of infection and may have fitness consequences for hosts when increased allocation of resources to immune responses undermines other essential life processes. Research on host-parasite interactions in large free-ranging wild mammals is currently hampered by a lack of verified noninvasive assays. We successfully adapted existing assays to measure innate and adaptive immune responses produced by the gastrointestinal mucosa in spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) feces, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), to quantify fecal immunoglobulins (total IgA, total IgG) and total fecal O-linked oligosaccharides (mucin). We investigated the effect of infection load by an energetically costly hookworm (Ancylostoma), parasite richness, host age, sex, year of sampling, and clan membership on immune responses and asked whether high investment in immune responses during early life affects longevity in individually known spotted hyenas in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Fecal concentrations of IgA, IgG, and mucin increased with Ancylostoma egg load and were higher in juveniles than in adults. Females had higher mucin concentrations than males. Juvenile females had higher IgG concentrations than juvenile males, whereas adult females had lower IgG concentrations than adult males. High IgA concentrations during the first year of life were linked to reduced longevity after controlling for age at sampling and Ancylostoma egg load. Our study demonstrates that the use of noninvasive methods can increase knowledge on the complex relationship between gastrointestinal parasites and host local immune responses in wild large mammals and reveal fitness-relevant effects of these responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana C. M. Ferreira
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
- Present address:
Division of Computational Systems BiologyCentre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems ScienceViennaAustria
| | - Miguel M. Veiga
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Heribert Hofer
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
- Department of Veterinary MedicineFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry and PharmacyFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Marion L. East
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Gábor Á. Czirják
- Department of Wildlife DiseasesLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
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Behringer V, Krumbholz A, Stevens JMG, Keiler AM, Zierau O, Hohmann G. Exploring the Utility of Hair Endocannabinoids for Monitoring Homeostasis in Bonobos. Physiol Biochem Zool 2021; 94:83-98. [PMID: 33434116 DOI: 10.1086/712658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractQuantifying physiological challenges has gained increasing importance in evolutionary biology, behavioral physiology, and conservation. One matrix that is particularly useful for obtaining long-term records of physiological changes in mammals is hair. Potential markers are components of the endocannabinoid (EC) system, which regulates homeostasis of the brain as well as the endocrine and immune systems. Here, we present results from the first study to measure ECs (anandamide [AEA], 2-archidonyl glycerol [2-AG]) and EC-like compounds (N-palmitoylethanolamine [PEA], N-oleoylethanolamine [OEA], N-stearoylethanolamine [SEA]) in the hair of a nonhuman primate. We found that AEA, SEA, PEA, and OEA can be reliably measured in hair samples. When comparing the measurements of hair from different body parts, we found that variations of some analytes suggest that hair location is likely to affect results. For changes in health status, measurements of ECs and EC-like compounds reflected differences at both intra- and interindividual levels. We concluded that the EC system potentially provides novel tools to assess well-being, health status, and metabolic stress-not only in the hair of humans but also in that of domestic and wild animals. Measuring changes in ECs and EC-like compounds may improve the long-term monitoring of health status in captive and wild primates and may serve as a useful measure in animal welfare programs.
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Colombo SAP, Grencis RK. Immunity to Soil-Transmitted Helminths: Evidence From the Field and Laboratory Models. Front Immunol 2020; 11:1286. [PMID: 32655568 PMCID: PMC7324686 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Infection with soil-transmitted helminths (STH) remains a major burden on global health and agriculture. Our understanding of the immunological mechanisms that govern whether an individual is resistant or susceptible to infection is derived primarily from model infections in rodents. Typically, experimental infections employ an artificially high, single bolus of parasites that leads to rapid expulsion of the primary infection and robust immunity to subsequent challenges. However, immunity in natura is generated slowly, and is only partially effective, with individuals in endemic areas retaining low-level infections throughout their lives. Therefore, there is a gap between traditional model STH systems and observations in the field. Here, we review the immune response to traditional model STH infections in the laboratory. We compare these data to studies of natural infection in humans and rodents in endemic areas, highlighting crucial differences between experimental and natural infection. We then detail the literature to date on the use of "trickle" infections to experimentally model the kinetics of natural infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano A. P. Colombo
- Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Richard K. Grencis
- Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research, Lydia Becker Institute for Immunology and Inflammation, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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