Diurnal oscillations in gut bacterial load and composition eclipse seasonal and lifetime dynamics in wild meerkats
Publication Date
2021-10-14Journal Title
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK
Volume
12
Issue
1
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Risely, A., Wilhelm, K., Clutton-Brock, T., Manser, M. B., & Sommer, S. (2021). Diurnal oscillations in gut bacterial load and composition eclipse seasonal and lifetime dynamics in wild meerkats. Nature Communications, 12 (1) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26298-5
Abstract
Abstract: Circadian rhythms in gut microbiota composition are crucial for metabolic function, yet the extent to which they govern microbial dynamics compared to seasonal and lifetime processes remains unknown. Here, we investigate gut bacterial dynamics in wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta) over a 20-year period to compare diurnal, seasonal, and lifetime processes in concert, applying ratios of absolute abundance. We found that diurnal oscillations in bacterial load and composition eclipsed seasonal and lifetime dynamics. Diurnal oscillations were characterised by a peak in Clostridium abundance at dawn, were associated with temperature-constrained foraging schedules, and did not decay with age. Some genera exhibited seasonal fluctuations, whilst others developed with age, although we found little support for microbial senescence in very old meerkats. Strong microbial circadian rhythms in this species may reflect the extreme daily temperature fluctuations typical of arid-zone climates. Our findings demonstrate that accounting for circadian rhythms is essential for future gut microbiome research.
Keywords
Article, /631/158/855, /631/326/2565/855, /631/326/2565/2134, /49, /49/23, article
Sponsorship
EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 European Research Council (H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council) (294494, 742808)
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) (RGP0051/2017)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) (DFG SO 428/15-1)
Identifiers
s41467-021-26298-5, 26298
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26298-5
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/329486
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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