10.5061/DRYAD.2RQ05
Baldo, Laura
University of Basel
University of Barcelona
Riera, Joan Lluís
University of Barcelona
Tooming-Klunderud, Ave
University of Oslo
Albà, M. Mar
Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
Salzburger, Walter
University of Basel
Data from: Gut microbiota dynamics during dietary shift in Eastern African
cichlid fishes
Dryad
dataset
2016
2016-04-22T00:00:00Z
2016-04-22T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127462
946271 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The gut microbiota structure reflects both a host phylogenetic history and
a signature of adaptation to the host ecological, mainly trophic niches.
African cichlid fishes, with their array of closely related species that
underwent a rapid dietary niche radiation, offer a particularly
interesting system to explore the relative contribution of these two
factors in nature. Here we surveyed the host intra- and interspecific
natural variation of the gut microbiota of five cichlid species from the
monophyletic tribe Perissodini of lake Tanganyika, whose members
transitioned from being zooplanktivorous to feeding primarily on fish
scales. The outgroup riverine species Astatotilapia burtoni, largely
omnivorous, was also included in the study. Fusobacteria, Firmicutes and
Proteobacteria represented the dominant components in the gut microbiota
of all 30 specimens analysed according to two distinct 16S rRNA markers.
All members of the Perissodini tribe showed a homogenous pattern of
microbial alpha and beta diversities, with no significant qualitative
differences, despite changes in diet. The recent diet shift between
zooplantkon- and scale-eaters simply reflects on a significant enrichment
of Clostridium taxa in scale-eaters where they might be involved in the
scale metabolism. Comparison with the omnivorous species A. burtoni
suggests that, with increased host phylogenetic distance and/or increasing
herbivory, the gut microbiota begins differentiating also at qualitative
level. The cichlids show presence of a large conserved core of taxa and a
small set of core OTUs (average 13–15%), remarkably stable also in
captivity, and putatively favoured by both restricted microbial
transmission among related hosts (putatively enhanced by mouthbrooding
behavior) and common host constraints. This study sets the basis for a
future large-scale investigation of the gut microbiota of cichlids and its
adaptation in the process of the host adaptive radiation.
V12_OTU_biom_tableBiom Table for V1-2 16S ampliconV34_OTU_biom_tableBiom
table for V3-4 16S ampliconV12_OTUs_alignmentOTU fasta alignment for V1-2
16S ampliconV34_OTUs_alignmentOTU fasta alignment of V3-4 16S amplicon