Social transfer of gut microbiota in house mouse

The bacterial communities in the caecum, colon and colon of two house mouse subspecies (Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus) were analysed by amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (hypervariable region V3-V4). The studied population originated from seminatural common garden experiment, which allowed detailed analyses of social interactions and genetic relatedness of the studied individuals. The main aim of our study was to quantify to what extent the composition of the gut microbiota is influenced by social contacts and genetic relatedness between the studied individuals