Seasonal and environmental factors contribute to the variation in the gut microbiome : A large-scale study of a small bird
Liukkonen, Martta ; Muriel, Jaime ; Martínez-Padilla, Jesús ; Nord, Andreas LU
; Pakanen, Veli Matti
; Rosivall, Balázs
; Tilgar, Vallo
; van Oers, Kees
; Grond, Kirsten
and Ruuskanen, Suvi
(2024)
In Journal of Animal Ecology
93(10).
p.1475-1492
- Abstract
Environmental variation can shape the gut microbiome, but broad/large-scale data on among and within-population heterogeneity in the gut microbiome and the associated environmental factors of wild populations is lacking. Furthermore, previous studies have limited taxonomical coverage, and knowledge about wild avian gut microbiomes is still scarce. We investigated large-scale environmental variation in the gut microbiome of wild adult great tits across the species' European distribution range. We collected fecal samples to represent the gut microbiome and used the 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the bacterial gut microbiome. Our results show that gut microbiome diversity is higher during winter and that there are compositional... (More)
Environmental variation can shape the gut microbiome, but broad/large-scale data on among and within-population heterogeneity in the gut microbiome and the associated environmental factors of wild populations is lacking. Furthermore, previous studies have limited taxonomical coverage, and knowledge about wild avian gut microbiomes is still scarce. We investigated large-scale environmental variation in the gut microbiome of wild adult great tits across the species' European distribution range. We collected fecal samples to represent the gut microbiome and used the 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the bacterial gut microbiome. Our results show that gut microbiome diversity is higher during winter and that there are compositional differences between winter and summer gut microbiomes. During winter, individuals inhabiting mixed forest habitat show higher gut microbiome diversity, whereas there was no similar association during summer. Also, temperature was found to be a small contributor to compositional differences in the gut microbiome. We did not find significant differences in the gut microbiome among populations, nor any association between latitude, rainfall and the gut microbiome. The results suggest that there is a seasonal change in wild avian gut microbiomes, but that there are still many unknown factors that shape the gut microbiome of wild bird populations.
(Less)
- author
- Liukkonen, Martta
; Muriel, Jaime
; Martínez-Padilla, Jesús
; Nord, Andreas
LU
; Pakanen, Veli Matti
; Rosivall, Balázs
; Tilgar, Vallo
; van Oers, Kees
; Grond, Kirsten
and Ruuskanen, Suvi
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- avian microbiome, ecological adaptation, environmental variation, gut microbiome, Parus major, seasonal adaptation, the 16S rRNA gene
- in
- Journal of Animal Ecology
- volume
- 93
- issue
- 10
- pages
- 18 pages
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:39041321
- scopus:85199269183
- ISSN
- 0021-8790
- DOI
- 10.1111/1365-2656.14153
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 24ecd66a-1ef0-4e61-b551-272eef253a39
- date added to LUP
- 2024-12-02 10:51:29
- date last changed
- 2025-07-01 15:29:57
@article{24ecd66a-1ef0-4e61-b551-272eef253a39,
abstract = {{<p>Environmental variation can shape the gut microbiome, but broad/large-scale data on among and within-population heterogeneity in the gut microbiome and the associated environmental factors of wild populations is lacking. Furthermore, previous studies have limited taxonomical coverage, and knowledge about wild avian gut microbiomes is still scarce. We investigated large-scale environmental variation in the gut microbiome of wild adult great tits across the species' European distribution range. We collected fecal samples to represent the gut microbiome and used the 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the bacterial gut microbiome. Our results show that gut microbiome diversity is higher during winter and that there are compositional differences between winter and summer gut microbiomes. During winter, individuals inhabiting mixed forest habitat show higher gut microbiome diversity, whereas there was no similar association during summer. Also, temperature was found to be a small contributor to compositional differences in the gut microbiome. We did not find significant differences in the gut microbiome among populations, nor any association between latitude, rainfall and the gut microbiome. The results suggest that there is a seasonal change in wild avian gut microbiomes, but that there are still many unknown factors that shape the gut microbiome of wild bird populations.</p>}},
author = {{Liukkonen, Martta and Muriel, Jaime and Martínez-Padilla, Jesús and Nord, Andreas and Pakanen, Veli Matti and Rosivall, Balázs and Tilgar, Vallo and van Oers, Kees and Grond, Kirsten and Ruuskanen, Suvi}},
issn = {{0021-8790}},
keywords = {{avian microbiome; ecological adaptation; environmental variation; gut microbiome; Parus major; seasonal adaptation; the 16S rRNA gene}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{10}},
pages = {{1475--1492}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Journal of Animal Ecology}},
title = {{Seasonal and environmental factors contribute to the variation in the gut microbiome : A large-scale study of a small bird}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14153}},
doi = {{10.1111/1365-2656.14153}},
volume = {{93}},
year = {{2024}},
}