Data for "Consuming centipedes promotes growth and gut microbiome homeostasis in a lizard"

“Medicine and food homology” (MFH) materials are gaining more attention as chronic diseases are spreading in modern human society. Animals could also do self-medication, but the use of MFH materials have not been recognized in animals. Centipedes are frequently used in traditional eastern medicine, and are also consumed by many animals. By conducting diet survey in the wild population of the endangered crocodile lizards, we found that juvenile lizards consumed more centipedes than adults, which was confirmed by indoor feeding experiment. We then conducted feeding experiment on juvenile lizards with centipede-adding or earthworm-only diet. Lizards from the centipede-eating group grew faster and had better body condition than those from the earthworm-only group without increasing food intake. The centipede-adding group showed lower species richness of gut microbiome compared with the earthworm-only group. The centipede-adding group had more abundant fermentative bacteria, such as Bacteroides, Paraclostridium, and Enterococcus, while the earthworm-only group had more abundant non-fermentative, opportunistic pathogens like Acinetobacter. Short-chain fatty acids, which mainly derived from bacterial fermentation in the gut, also showed higher concentration in the feces of centipede-adding group, providing more energy resources for the host. Therefore, centipedes may serve as an MFH material promoting growth and gut microbiota homeostasis of juvenile crocodile lizards. Our results provide evidence that MFH materials are also used by animals, emphasizing the importance of protecting food diversity in the wild.