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Diverse gut microbes facilitate ingestion of dietary toxins in herbivores
Author(s) -
Dearing M. Denise,
Kohl Kevin,
Dale Colin,
Weiss Robert
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.1155.8
Subject(s) - foregut , biology , larrea , herbivore , ingestion , bacteroidetes , firmicutes , gut flora , host (biology) , zoology , ecology , bacteria , 16s ribosomal rna , anatomy , biochemistry , shrub , immunology , genetics
For decades, gut microbes have been hypothesized to play a critical role in the detoxification of plant secondary compounds (PSCs) consumed by their herbivorous hosts. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether evolutionary history of the host with PSCs shapes microbial diversity and if gut microbes facilitate ingestion of PSCs. We used populations of two species of woodrats ( Neotoma lepida and N. bryanti ) that have independently converged on the same toxic diet of creosote ( Larrea tridentata ) and compared them to populations that have never encountered creosote. Naïve and experienced populations of both species were fed either a control diet of rabbit chow or rabbit chow plus 2% extracted creosote resin. After 5 days, foregut contents were collected for microbial 16S rDNA sequencing. In addition, a subset of N. lepida was given an antibiotic treatment. The microbiota of the woodrat foregut was comprised primarily of Firmicutes (~80%) and ingestion of creosote increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes in experienced hosts but not in naïve ones. Woodrats given antibiotics did not ingest as much creosote as woodrats not given antibiotics. These results indicate that 1) the microbiota of the woodrat foregut differs compared to that from other foregut herbivores 2) the experience of the host with the diet alters microbial diversity and 3) that microbes enhance consumption of PSCs.