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Mason B, Petrzelkova KJ, Kreisinger J, Bohm T, Cervena B, Fairet E, Fuh T, Gomez A, Knauf S, Maloueki U, Modry D, Shirley MH, Tagg N, Wangue N, Pafco B. Gastrointestinal symbiont diversity in wild gorilla: a comparison of bacterial and strongylid communities across multiple localities. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:4127-4145. [PMID: 35661299 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are Critically Endangered and show continued population decline. Consequently, pressure mounts to better understand their conservation threats and ecology. Gastrointestinal symbionts, such as bacterial and eukaryotic communities, are believed to play vital roles in the physiological landscape of the host. Gorillas host a broad spectrum of eucaryotes, so called parasites, with strongylid nematodes being particularly prevalent. While these communities are partially consistent, they are also shaped by various ecological factors, such as diet or habitat type. To investigate gastrointestinal symbionts of wild western lowland gorillas, we analysed 215 faecal samples from individuals in five distinct localities across the Congo Basin, using high-throughput sequencing techniques. We describe the gut bacterial microbiome and genetic diversity of strongylid communities, including strain-level identification of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). We identified strongylid ASVs from eight genera and bacterial ASVs from twenty phyla. We compared these communities across localities, with reference to varying environmental factors among populations, finding differences in alpha diversity and community compositions of both gastrointestinal components. Moreover, we also investigated covariation between strongylid nematodes and the bacterial microbiome, finding correlations between strongylid taxa and Prevotellaceae and Rikenellaceae ASVs that were consistent across multiple localities. Our research highlights complexity of the bacterial microbiome and strongylid communities in several gorilla populations and emphasizes potential interactions between these two symbiont communities. This study provides a framework for ongoing research into strongylid nematode diversity, and their interactions with the bacterial microbiome, amongst great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethan Mason
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences
| | - Klara J Petrzelkova
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences.,Liberec Zoo, Liberec, Czech Republic
| | | | - Torsten Bohm
- African Parks, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of, Congo
| | | | - Emilie Fairet
- SFM Safari Gabon, Loango National Park, Gabon.,Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Andres Gomez
- Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota
| | - Sascha Knauf
- Institute of International Animal Health / One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Ulrich Maloueki
- African Parks, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of, Congo
| | - David Modry
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences.,Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources/CINeZ, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
| | - Matthew H Shirley
- SFM Safari Gabon, Loango National Park, Gabon.,Institute of Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Project Grands Singes, , Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp
| | | | - Barbora Pafco
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences
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