Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores
Mammals host gut microbiomes of immense physiological consequence, but the determinants of diversity in these communities remain poorly understood. Diet appears to be the dominant factor, but host phylogeny also seems to be an important, if unpredictable, correlate. Here we show that baleen whales,...
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ftunivermont:oai:scholarworks.uvm.edu:rsfac-1023 2023-07-02T03:31:46+02:00 Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores Sanders, Jon G. Beichman, Annabel C. Roman, Joe Scott, Jarrod J. Emerson, David McCarthy, James J. Girguis, Peter R. 2015-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/rsfac/23 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9285 https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/context/rsfac/article/1023/viewcontent/Sanders.pdf unknown UVM ScholarWorks https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/rsfac/23 doi:10.1038/ncomms9285 https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/context/rsfac/article/1023/viewcontent/Sanders.pdf © 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications Climate Solutions Health and Well-Being Animal Sciences text 2015 ftunivermont https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9285 2023-06-13T18:32:33Z Mammals host gut microbiomes of immense physiological consequence, but the determinants of diversity in these communities remain poorly understood. Diet appears to be the dominant factor, but host phylogeny also seems to be an important, if unpredictable, correlate. Here we show that baleen whales, which prey on animals (fish and crustaceans), harbor unique gut microbiomes with surprising parallels in functional capacity and higher level taxonomy to those of terrestrial herbivores. These similarities likely reflect a shared role for fermentative metabolisms despite a shift in primary carbon sources from plant-derived to animal-derived polysaccharides, such as chitin. In contrast, protein catabolism and essential amino acid synthesis pathways in baleen whale microbiomes more closely resemble those of terrestrial carnivores. Our results demonstrate that functional attributes of the microbiome can vary independently even given an animal-derived diet, illustrating how diet and evolutionary history combine to shape microbial diversity in the mammalian gut. Text baleen whale baleen whales The University of Vermont: ScholarWorks @ UVM Nature Communications 6 1 |
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The University of Vermont: ScholarWorks @ UVM |
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topic |
Climate Solutions Health and Well-Being Animal Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Climate Solutions Health and Well-Being Animal Sciences Sanders, Jon G. Beichman, Annabel C. Roman, Joe Scott, Jarrod J. Emerson, David McCarthy, James J. Girguis, Peter R. Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
topic_facet |
Climate Solutions Health and Well-Being Animal Sciences |
description |
Mammals host gut microbiomes of immense physiological consequence, but the determinants of diversity in these communities remain poorly understood. Diet appears to be the dominant factor, but host phylogeny also seems to be an important, if unpredictable, correlate. Here we show that baleen whales, which prey on animals (fish and crustaceans), harbor unique gut microbiomes with surprising parallels in functional capacity and higher level taxonomy to those of terrestrial herbivores. These similarities likely reflect a shared role for fermentative metabolisms despite a shift in primary carbon sources from plant-derived to animal-derived polysaccharides, such as chitin. In contrast, protein catabolism and essential amino acid synthesis pathways in baleen whale microbiomes more closely resemble those of terrestrial carnivores. Our results demonstrate that functional attributes of the microbiome can vary independently even given an animal-derived diet, illustrating how diet and evolutionary history combine to shape microbial diversity in the mammalian gut. |
format |
Text |
author |
Sanders, Jon G. Beichman, Annabel C. Roman, Joe Scott, Jarrod J. Emerson, David McCarthy, James J. Girguis, Peter R. |
author_facet |
Sanders, Jon G. Beichman, Annabel C. Roman, Joe Scott, Jarrod J. Emerson, David McCarthy, James J. Girguis, Peter R. |
author_sort |
Sanders, Jon G. |
title |
Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
title_short |
Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
title_full |
Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
title_fullStr |
Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
title_full_unstemmed |
Baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
title_sort |
baleen whales host a unique gut microbiome with similarities to both carnivores and herbivores |
publisher |
UVM ScholarWorks |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/rsfac/23 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9285 https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/context/rsfac/article/1023/viewcontent/Sanders.pdf |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales |
op_source |
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/rsfac/23 doi:10.1038/ncomms9285 https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/context/rsfac/article/1023/viewcontent/Sanders.pdf |
op_rights |
© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9285 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1770271173446205440 |