Exposure to stressors can negatively impact the mammalian gastrointestinal microbiome (GIM). Here, we used 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA bacterial gene amplicons to evaluate the impact of physiological stress, as evidenced by faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGCM; ng/g), on the GIM composition of free-ranging western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Although we found no relationship between GIM alpha diversity (H) and FGCM levels, we observed a significant relationship between the relative abundances of particular bacterial taxa and FGCM levels. Specifically, members of the family Anaerolineaceae (ρ=0.4, FDR q=0.01), genus Clostridium cluster XIVb (ρ=0.35, FDR q=0.02) and genus Oscillibacter (ρ=0.35, FDR q=0.02) were positively correlated with FGCM levels. Thus, while exposure to stressors appears to be associated with minor changes in the gorilla GIM, the consequences of these changes are unknown. Our results may have implications for conservation biology as well as for our overall understanding of factors influencing the non-human primate GIM.
- MeSH
- Bacteria klasifikace genetika MeSH
- DNA bakterií MeSH
- feces chemie mikrobiologie MeSH
- fyziologický stres * MeSH
- glukokortikoidy analýza MeSH
- Gorilla gorilla mikrobiologie fyziologie MeSH
- RNA ribozomální 16S MeSH
- sekvenční analýza DNA MeSH
- statistické modely MeSH
- střevní mikroflóra fyziologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Understanding the complex Entamoeba communities in the mammalian intestine has been, to date, complicated by the lack of a suitable approach for molecular detection of multiple variants co-occurring in mixed infections. Here, we report on the application of a high throughput sequencing approach based on partial 18S rDNA using the Illumina MiSeq platform. We describe, to our knowledge, for the first time, the Entamoeba communities in humans, free-ranging western lowland gorillas and central chimpanzees living in the Dja Faunal Reserve in Cameroon. We detected 36 Entamoeba haplotypes belonging to six haplotype clusters, containing haplotypes possessing high and low host specificity. Most of the detected haplotypes belonged to commensal Entamoeba, however, the pathogenic species (Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba nuttalli) were also detected. We observed that some Entamoeba haplotypes are shared between humans and other hosts, indicating their zoonotic potential. The findings are important not only for understanding the epidemiology of amoebiasis in humans in rural African localities, but also in the context of wild great ape conservation.
- MeSH
- entamébóza epidemiologie parazitologie veterinární MeSH
- Entamoeba * MeSH
- Gorilla gorilla parazitologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nemoci lidoopů epidemiologie parazitologie MeSH
- Pan troglodytes parazitologie MeSH
- parazitární nemoci střev epidemiologie parazitologie veterinární MeSH
- vysoce účinné nukleotidové sekvenování * MeSH
- zachování přírodních zdrojů MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Afrika MeSH
The mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome, which plays indispensable roles in host nutrition and health, is affected by numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Among them, antibiotic (ATB) treatment is reported to have a significant effect on GI microbiome composition in humans and other animals. However, the impact of ATBs on the GI microbiome of free-ranging or even captive great apes remains poorly characterized. Here, we investigated the effect of cephalosporin treatment (delivered by intramuscular dart injection during a serious respiratory outbreak) on the GI microbiome of a wild habituated group of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. We examined 36 fecal samples from eight individuals, including samples before and after ATB treatment, and characterized the GI microbiome composition using Illumina-MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The GI microbial profiles of samples from the same individuals before and after ATB administration indicate that the ATB treatment impacts GI microbiome stability and the relative abundance of particular bacterial taxa within the colonic ecosystem of wild gorillas. We observed a statistically significant increase in Firmicutes and a decrease in Bacteroidetes levels after ATB treatment. We found disruption of the fibrolytic community linked with a decrease of Ruminoccocus levels as a result of ATB treatment. Nevertheless, the nature of the changes observed after ATB treatment differs among gorillas and thus is dependent on the individual host. This study has important implications for ecology, management, and conservation of wild primates.
- MeSH
- antibakteriální látky farmakologie MeSH
- Bacteroidetes růst a vývoj MeSH
- cefalosporiny farmakologie MeSH
- feces mikrobiologie MeSH
- Firmicutes růst a vývoj MeSH
- Gorilla gorilla mikrobiologie MeSH
- nemoci lidoopů farmakoterapie MeSH
- RNA ribozomální 16S genetika MeSH
- Ruminococcus růst a vývoj MeSH
- střevní mikroflóra účinky léků MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Středoafrická republika MeSH
- MeSH
- bioetická témata MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- eutanazie * dějiny etika zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- lékařská etika * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- novorozenec MeSH
- právo na smrt etika MeSH
- spoluúčast při sebevraždě * dějiny etika zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- terminologie jako téma MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- novorozenec MeSH
- Publikační typ
- přehledy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Belgie MeSH
- Česká republika MeSH
- Nizozemsko MeSH
The close relationship between soil organic matter and the bioavailability of POPs in soils suggests the possibility of using it for the extrapolation between different soils. The aim of this study was to prove that TOC content is not a single factor affecting the bioavailability of POPs and that TOC based extrapolation might be incorrect, especially when comparing natural and artificial soils. Three natural soils with increasing TOC and three artificial soils with TOC comparable to these natural soils were spiked with phenanthrene, pyrene, lindane, p,p'-DDT, and PCB 153 and studied after 0, 14, 28, and 56 days. At each sampling point, total soil concentration and bioaccumulation in earthworms Eisenia fetida were measured. The results showed different behavior and bioavailability of POPs in natural and artificial soils and apparent effects of aging on these differences. Hence, direct TOC based extrapolation between various soils seems to be limited.
- MeSH
- látky znečišťující půdu chemie metabolismus toxicita MeSH
- Oligochaeta chemie účinky léků metabolismus MeSH
- organické látky chemie metabolismus toxicita MeSH
- půda chemie MeSH
- uhlík analýza MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- srovnávací studie MeSH
Freezing is considered to be the best method for long-term storage of bacterial DNA from feces; however this method cannot be usually applied for samples of wild primates collected in the challenging conditions of the tropical forest. In order to find an alternative conservation method of fecal samples from wild great apes, we compared freezing with other fixation methods. Fecal samples from 11 captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) from three Czech Zoos were stored using freezing, RNA Stabilization Reagent (RNAlater), and 96% ethanol. Subsequently, the samples were examined using culture-independent methods (PCR-DGGE, and Real-time PCR) to qualitatively and quantitatively assess fecal microbiota composition and to compare differences among the storage methods. Noticeably, freezing samples resulted in the highest recoveries of DNA. No significant differences in DNA recovery were found between freezing and using RNAlater; however, significantly lower DNA concentrations were recovered from samples stored in 96% ethanol. Using PCR-DGGE we found that either 96% ethanol, RNAlater or freezing were suitable for preserving bacterial DNA; however fingerprints obtained from RNAlater storage were more similar to those obtained from the frozen method; in comparison to the patterns resulting from storing samples in ethanol. Using qPCR, frozen samples yielded the highest values of bacterial counts, with the exception of Enterobacteriaceae, which showed the highest numbers using samples stored in ethanol. Sequences of amplicons obtained from PCR-DGGE belonged to the families Clostridiaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Staphylococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae, phylum Firmicutes; however most amplicons showed sequence similarity to previously uncultured microorganisms. Bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes were the most frequently identified species in the fecal bacterial communities of captive western gorillas. The study showed that RNAlater is an optimal storage method when freezing is not possible.
