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Shared and unique responses in the microbiome of allopatric lizards reared in a standardized environment

Shared and unique responses in the microbiome of allopatric lizards reared in a standardized environment
Shared and unique responses in the microbiome of allopatric lizards reared in a standardized environment

The gut microbiome can influence host fitness and, consequently, the ecology and evolution of natural populations. Microbiome composition can be driven by environmental exposure but also by the host's genetic background and phenotype. To contrast environmental and genetic effects on the microbiome we leverage preserved specimens of eastern fence lizards from allopatric lineages east and west of the Mississippi River but reared in standardized conditions. Bacterial composition was indistinguishable between lineages but responded significantly to host age—a proxy for environmental exposure. This was accompanied by a continuous decrease in bacterial diversity in both lineages, partially driven by decreasing evenness seen only in western lizards. These findings indicate that longer exposure to a homogeneous habitat may have a depreciating effect on microbiome diversity in eastern fence lizards, a response shared by both lineages. We highlight the importance of such effects when extrapolating patterns from laboratory experiments to the natural world.

allopatry, bacterial diversity, common garden, microbial community, sceloporus
2471-5638
5-12
Assis, Braulio A.
48a37856-299f-426a-96c4-98023cab80f0
Bell, Terrence H.
29863b8c-a89c-4077-b22d-62052cfb7225
Engler, Heather I.
88b56e0f-8d2a-4fe9-9647-51c43e985a9f
King, William L.
0bd4328a-34ba-4b9a-bf4e-1442c18c43fc
Assis, Braulio A.
48a37856-299f-426a-96c4-98023cab80f0
Bell, Terrence H.
29863b8c-a89c-4077-b22d-62052cfb7225
Engler, Heather I.
88b56e0f-8d2a-4fe9-9647-51c43e985a9f
King, William L.
0bd4328a-34ba-4b9a-bf4e-1442c18c43fc

Assis, Braulio A., Bell, Terrence H., Engler, Heather I. and King, William L. (2022) Shared and unique responses in the microbiome of allopatric lizards reared in a standardized environment. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology, 339 (1), 5-12. (doi:10.1002/jez.2665).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The gut microbiome can influence host fitness and, consequently, the ecology and evolution of natural populations. Microbiome composition can be driven by environmental exposure but also by the host's genetic background and phenotype. To contrast environmental and genetic effects on the microbiome we leverage preserved specimens of eastern fence lizards from allopatric lineages east and west of the Mississippi River but reared in standardized conditions. Bacterial composition was indistinguishable between lineages but responded significantly to host age—a proxy for environmental exposure. This was accompanied by a continuous decrease in bacterial diversity in both lineages, partially driven by decreasing evenness seen only in western lizards. These findings indicate that longer exposure to a homogeneous habitat may have a depreciating effect on microbiome diversity in eastern fence lizards, a response shared by both lineages. We highlight the importance of such effects when extrapolating patterns from laboratory experiments to the natural world.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 7 October 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 October 2022
Published date: 14 December 2022
Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Hatch Appropriations under Project #PEN04651 and Accession #1016233. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Keywords: allopatry, bacterial diversity, common garden, microbial community, sceloporus

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 486543
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/486543
ISSN: 2471-5638
PURE UUID: 00884c4a-35de-499a-9d9c-7d2b3a4922e5
ORCID for William L. King: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7272-8242

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Date deposited: 25 Jan 2024 17:35
Last modified: 11 Jul 2024 02:17

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Contributors

Author: Braulio A. Assis
Author: Terrence H. Bell
Author: Heather I. Engler
Author: William L. King ORCID iD

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