Gut microbiota non-convergence and adaptations in sympatric Tibetan and Przewalski’s gazelles
Pengfei Song,
Feng Jiang,
Daoxin Liu,
Zhenyuan Cai,
Hongmei Gao,
Haifeng Gu,
Jingjie Zhang,
Bin Li,
Bo Xu,
Tongzuo Zhang
Affiliations
Pengfei Song
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Feng Jiang
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Daoxin Liu
Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai 810016, China
Zhenyuan Cai
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Hongmei Gao
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Haifeng Gu
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Jingjie Zhang
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Bin Li
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Bo Xu
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China
Tongzuo Zhang
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Xining, Qinghai 810008, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Unraveling the connection between gut microbiota and adaptability in wild species in natural habitats is imperative yet challenging. We studied the gut microbiota of sympatric and allopatric populations of two closely related species, the Procapra picticaudata and P. przewalskii, with the latter showing lower adaptability and adaptive potential than the former. Despite shared habitat, sympatric populations showed no convergence in gut microbiota, revealing distinct microbiota-environment relationships between the two gazelle species. Furthermore, the gut microbiota assembly process of the P. przewalskii was shifted toward homogeneous selection processes relative to that of the P. picticaudata. Those taxa which contributed to the shift were mainly from the phyla Firmicutes and Verrucomicrobiota, with functions highly related to micronutrient and macronutrient metabolism. Our study provides new insights into the complex dynamics between gut microbiota, host adaptability, and environment in wildlife adaptation and highlights the need to consider host adaptability when examining wildlife host-microbiome interplay.
