Geography, seasonality, and host‐associated population structure influence the fecal microbiome of a genetically depauparate Arctic mammal

The Canadian Arctic is an extreme environment with low floral and faunal diversity characterized by major seasonal shifts in temperature, moisture and daylight. Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are one of few large herbivores able to survive this harsh environment. Microbiome research of the gastrointestinal tract may hold clues as to how muskoxen exist in the Arctic, but also how this species may respond to rapid environmental changes. In this study, we investigated the effects of season (spring/summer/winter), year (2007-2016), and host genetic structure on population-level microbiome variation in muskoxen from the Canadian Arctic. We utilized 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the fecal microbial communities of 78 male muskoxen encompassing two population genetic clusters. These clusters are defined by Arctic Mainland and Island populations, including; 1) two mainland sampling locations of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut; and 2) four locations of Victoria Island. Between these...加拿大北极地区为极端环境，植物与动物区系多样性极低，其典型特征为温度、湿度及日照的剧烈季节性波动。麝牛（Ovibos moschatus）是少数可在这一严酷环境中存活的大型植食动物。胃肠道微生物组（microbiome）研究，不仅可为解析麝牛在北极环境中的生存策略提供线索，亦有助于理解该物种如何应对快速的环境变化。本研究针对加拿大北极地区的麝牛，探究了季节（春/夏/冬）、采样年份（2007-2016）以及宿主遗传结构对种群水平微生物组变异的影响。我们采用16S rRNA基因测序技术，对涵盖两个种群遗传集群的78头雄性麝牛的粪便微生物群落进行了表征。该两类集群以北极大陆种群与岛屿种群为划分依据，具体包括：1）西北地区与努纳武特地区的两个大陆采样点位；2）维多利亚岛的四个采样点位。在这两类集群之间……