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Michel A, Minocher R, Niehoff PP, Li Y, Nota K, Gadhvi MA, Su J, Iyer N, Porter A, Ngobobo-As-Ibungu U, Binyinyi E, Nishuli Pekeyake R, Parducci L, Caillaud D, Guschanski K. Isolated Grauer's gorilla populations differ in diet and gut microbiome. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:6523-6542. [PMID: 35976262 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The animal gut microbiome has been implicated in a number of key biological processes, ranging from digestion to behaviour, and has also been suggested to facilitate local adaptation. Yet studies in wild animals rarely compare multiple populations that differ ecologically, which is the level at which local adaptation may occur. Further, few studies simultaneously characterize diet and gut microbiome from the same sample, despite their probable interdependence. Here, we investigate the interplay between diet and gut microbiome in three geographically isolated populations of the critically endangered Grauer's gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), which we show to be genetically differentiated. We find population- and social group-specific dietary and gut microbial profiles and covariation between diet and gut microbiome, despite the presence of core microbial taxa. There was no detectable effect of age, and only marginal effects of sex and genetic relatedness on the microbiome. Diet differed considerably across populations, with the high-altitude population consuming a lower diversity of plants compared to low-altitude populations, consistent with plant availability constraining dietary choices. The observed pattern of covariation between diet and gut microbiome is probably a result of long-term social and environmental factors. Our study suggests that the gut microbiome is sufficiently plastic to support flexible food selection and hence contribute to local adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Michel
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Riana Minocher
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Peter-Philip Niehoff
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yuhong Li
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kevin Nota
- Plant Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Maya A Gadhvi
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jiancheng Su
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Neetha Iyer
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Amy Porter
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | | | - Escobar Binyinyi
- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Radar Nishuli Pekeyake
- Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Laura Parducci
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Damien Caillaud
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Katerina Guschanski
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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