Manipulating a host-native microbial strain compensates for low microbial diversity by increasing weight gain in a wild bird population

Somers, Shane E., Davidson, Gabrielle ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5663-2662, Mbandlwa, Philiswa, McKeon, Caroline, Stanton, Catherine, Ross, R. Paul and Quinn, John L. (2024) Manipulating a host-native microbial strain compensates for low microbial diversity by increasing weight gain in a wild bird population. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121 (43). ISSN 0027-8424

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Abstract

Empirical studies from laboratory systems and humans show that the gut microbiota is linked to host health. Similar evidence for effects on traits linked to fitness in nature is rare, not least because experimentally manipulating the gut microbiota is challenging. We isolated, characterized, and cultured a bacterial strain, Lactobacillus kimchicus APC4233, directly from a wild bird (the great tit Parus major) and provided it as a self-administered dietary supplement. We assessed the impact of the treatment on the host microbiota community, on weight, and tested whether the treatment affected a previous result linking microbiota alpha diversity to weight in nestlings. The treatment dramatically increased L. kimchicus abundance in the gut microbiota and increased alpha diversity. This effect was strongest in the youngest birds, validating earlier findings pointing to a brief developmental window when the gut microbiota are most sensitive. In time-lagged models, nestling weight was higher in the treatment birds suggesting L. kimchicus may have probiotic potential. There was also a positive time-lagged relationship between diversity and weight in control birds but not in the treatment birds, suggesting L. kimchicus helped birds compensate for low alpha diversity. We discuss why ecological context is likely key when predicting impacts of the microbiome. The manipulation of the gut microbiota with a host native strain in this wild population provides direct evidence for the role of the microbiota in the ecology and evolution of natural populations.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data, Materials, and Software Availability: Sequence data are available in the European Nucleotide Archive under accession number PRJEB74941 (S. E. Somers et al., BioProject: PRJEB74941. European Nucleotide Database. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJEB74941. Deposited 4 June 2024). The sample metadata, ASV, and taxonomy tables (S. Somers, Manipulating a host-native microbial strain compensates for low microbial diversity by increasing weight gain in a wild bird population (Version 1) [Dataset]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10987294. Deposited 17 April 2024) and analysis code are available (S. Somers, shan-e-s/NativeStrain: NativeStrain_v1 (NativeStrain_v1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11369716. Deposited 1 May 2024) on Zenodo. Funding information: This study was supported by Science Foundation Ireland by way of funding to APC Microbiome Ireland, Cork, Ireland. S.E.S. was supported by the Irish Research Council (GOIPG/2020/818). Early stages of this work were supported by funding to J.L.Q. from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Consolidator Grant “Evoecocog” Project No. 617509.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	ecology,fitness,health,microbiome,probiotic,icrobiome,general ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1000
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2024 16:30
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2024 15:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/97164
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.2402352121

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