Heavy-metal pollution affects Daphnia fitness by altering diversity of the gut microbiota. Daphnia magna

The role of gut microbiota in shaping host fitness is already well established. However, it remains unclear to what extent the gut microbiota can protect the host against environmental stressors . Here, we tested the hypothesis that responses of Daphnia to a heavy metal (nickel, Ni) are mediated by the gut microbiota.