Yellow-rumped warbler 16S metabarcoding

We take advantage of natural admixture between Setophaga coronata coronata x S. c. auduboni to examine the effects of host genetic divergence and hybridization on gut microbiome composition. We used 16S metabarcoding to quantify gut microbiome diversity from fecal samples collected in allopatric parental populations as well as hybrid zone individuals. Our study includes samples from across nearly their full breeding range. We also carried out genome-wide sequencing of host individuals (a combination of genotype-by-sequencing and whole-genome sequencing) to generate high quality genotypes and used association mapping to identify candidate host genes that underlie gut microbiome variation in this warbler system. Our goals are to understand the genetic determinants of gut microbiome variation in this system and to explore whether host-microbe interactions may contribute to speciation.