Group living and male dispersal predict the core gut microbiome in wild baboons

The mammalian gut microbiome plays a profound role in the physiology, metabolism, and overall health of its host. However, biologists have only a nascent understanding of the forces that drive inter-individual heterogeneity in gut microbial composition, especially the role of host social environment. Here we used 178 samples from 78 wild yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) living in two social groups to test how host social context, including group living, social interactions within groups, and transfer between social groups (e.g., dispersal) predict inter-individual variation in gut microbial alpha and beta diversity. We also tested whether social effects differed for prevalent “core” gut microbial taxa, which are thought to provide primary functions to hosts, versus rare “non-core” microbes, which may represent relatively transient environmental acquisitions. Confirming prior studies, we found that each social group harbored a distinct gut microbial community. These differences includ...

哺乳动物肠道微生物组（gut microbiome）对宿主的生理机能、新陈代谢及整体健康具有深远影响。然而，生物学界目前对驱动肠道微生物组组成个体间异质性的各类因素仅具备初步认知，其中宿主社会环境所扮演的角色尤为待解。本研究采集了栖息于两个社会群体的78只野生黄狒狒（Papio cynocephalus）的178份样本，旨在探究宿主社会背景——包括群体生活模式、群体内部社交互动以及群体间迁移（如扩散行为）——如何预测肠道微生物α多样性与β多样性的个体间差异。本研究同时检验了社会效应对优势"核心"肠道微生物类群（通常认为其为宿主提供核心生理功能）与稀有"非核心"微生物（多为相对短暂的环境获取类群）的影响是否存在显著差异。与既往研究结果一致，我们发现每个社会群体均拥有独特的肠道微生物群落结构。此类差异包括……