Data from: Association between gut health and gut microbiota in a polluted environment

Animals host complex bacterial communities in their gastrointestinal
tracts, with which they share a mutualistic interaction. The numerous
effects these interactions grant to the host include regulation of the
immune system, defense against pathogen invasion, aid in digestion of
otherwise indigestible foodstuffs, and even changing host behaviour.
Stress, such as environmental pollution, parasites, predators, and
intraspecies competition, can alter the composition of the gut microbiome,
which in turn can change host-microbiome interactions in ways that are
detrimental to the host such as causing metabolic dysfunction and
inflammation. While host-microbiome interactions have been extensively
studied in humans and captive animals, studies into wild animal
microbiomes have been scarce. We assessed the effects of disturbed
environment on gut health of bank voles exposed to radionuclides in
natural habitat using a combined approach of transcriptomics, microbial
community analysis by 16S amplicon sequencing, histological staining
analyses of colon tissue, and quantification of gut microbiota -produced
short-chain fatty acids in faecal matter and blood that act as mediators
of host-microbiome interactions. We found signs of weakened mucus layer
and related changes in Clca1 and Agr2 gene expression and microbiome
composition in animals exposed to radionuclides. These results imply that
disturbed environment can have widely reaching effects through gut health.