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Main Authors: Ma, Lei, Hahn, Mark E, Karchner, Sibel I, Nacci, Diane, Clark, Bryan W, Apprill, Amy
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Microbiology spectrum 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39868785/
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author Ma, Lei
Hahn, Mark E
Karchner, Sibel I
Nacci, Diane
Clark, Bryan W
Apprill, Amy
author_facet Ma, Lei
Hahn, Mark E
Karchner, Sibel I
Nacci, Diane
Clark, Bryan W
Apprill, Amy
Ma, Lei
Hahn, Mark E
Karchner, Sibel I
Nacci, Diane
Clark, Bryan W
Apprill, Amy
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Environmental and population influences on mummichog () gut microbiomes. Ma, Lei Hahn, Mark E Karchner, Sibel I Nacci, Diane Clark, Bryan W Apprill, Amy Fundulidae Animals Gastrointestinal Microbiome Polychlorinated Biphenyls Bacteria Water Pollutants, Chemical Archaea Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon RNA, Ribosomal, 16S Fundulus heteroclitus The mummichog, , an abundant estuarine fish broadly distributed along the eastern coast of North America, has repeatedly evolved tolerance to otherwise lethal levels of aromatic hydrocarbon exposure. This tolerance is linked to reduced activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling pathway. In other animals, the AHR has been shown to influence the gastrointestinal-associated microbial community, particularly when activated by the model toxic pollutant 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-126) and other dioxin-like compounds. To understand host population and PCB-126 exposure effects on mummichog gut microbiota, we sampled two populations of wild fish, one from a PCB-contaminated environment (New Bedford Harbor, MA, USA) and the other from a much less polluted location (Scorton Creek, MA, USA), as well as laboratory-reared F2 generation fish originating from each of these populations. We examined the microbes associated with the gut of these fish using amplicon sequencing of bacterial and archaeal small subunit ribosomal RNA genes. Fish living in the PCB-polluted site had high microbial alpha and beta diversity compared to fish from the low PCB site. These differences between wild fish were not present in laboratory-reared F2 fish that originated from the same populations. Microbial compositional differences existed between wild and lab-reared fish, with the wild fish dominated by Vibrionaceae and the lab-reared fish by Enterococceae. These results suggest that mummichog habitat and/or environmental conditions have a stronger influence on the mummichog gut microbiome compared to population or hereditary-based influences. Mummichog are important eco-evolutionary model organisms; this work reveals their importance for exploring host-environmental-microbiome dynamics. The mummichog fish, a common resident of North America's east coast estuaries, has evolved the ability to survive in waters contaminated with toxic chemicals that would typically be deadly. Our study investigates how living in and adapting to these toxic environments may affect their gut microbiomes. We compared mummichogs from a polluted area in Massachusetts with those from a non-polluted site and found significant differences in their gut microbes. Interestingly, when we raised the next generation of these fish in a lab, these differences disappeared, suggesting that the environment plays a more crucial role in shaping the gut microbiome than genetics. Understanding these changes helps shed light on how animals and their associated microbiomes adapt to pollution, which can inform conservation efforts and our broader understanding of environmental impacts on host-microbe dynamics.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_39868785
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher Microbiology spectrum
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Environmental and population influences on mummichog () gut microbiomes.
Ma, Lei
Hahn, Mark E
Karchner, Sibel I
Nacci, Diane
Clark, Bryan W
Apprill, Amy
Fundulidae
Animals
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Bacteria
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Archaea
Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Fundulus heteroclitus
Environmental and population influences on mummichog () gut microbiomes. Ma, Lei Hahn, Mark E Karchner, Sibel I Nacci, Diane Clark, Bryan W Apprill, Amy Fundulidae Animals Gastrointestinal Microbiome Polychlorinated Biphenyls Bacteria Water Pollutants, Chemical Archaea Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon RNA, Ribosomal, 16S Fundulus heteroclitus The mummichog, , an abundant estuarine fish broadly distributed along the eastern coast of North America, has repeatedly evolved tolerance to otherwise lethal levels of aromatic hydrocarbon exposure. This tolerance is linked to reduced activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling pathway. In other animals, the AHR has been shown to influence the gastrointestinal-associated microbial community, particularly when activated by the model toxic pollutant 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-126) and other dioxin-like compounds. To understand host population and PCB-126 exposure effects on mummichog gut microbiota, we sampled two populations of wild fish, one from a PCB-contaminated environment (New Bedford Harbor, MA, USA) and the other from a much less polluted location (Scorton Creek, MA, USA), as well as laboratory-reared F2 generation fish originating from each of these populations. We examined the microbes associated with the gut of these fish using amplicon sequencing of bacterial and archaeal small subunit ribosomal RNA genes. Fish living in the PCB-polluted site had high microbial alpha and beta diversity compared to fish from the low PCB site. These differences between wild fish were not present in laboratory-reared F2 fish that originated from the same populations. Microbial compositional differences existed between wild and lab-reared fish, with the wild fish dominated by Vibrionaceae and the lab-reared fish by Enterococceae. These results suggest that mummichog habitat and/or environmental conditions have a stronger influence on the mummichog gut microbiome compared to population or hereditary-based influences. Mummichog are important eco-evolutionary model organisms; this work reveals their importance for exploring host-environmental-microbiome dynamics. The mummichog fish, a common resident of North America's east coast estuaries, has evolved the ability to survive in waters contaminated with toxic chemicals that would typically be deadly. Our study investigates how living in and adapting to these toxic environments may affect their gut microbiomes. We compared mummichogs from a polluted area in Massachusetts with those from a non-polluted site and found significant differences in their gut microbes. Interestingly, when we raised the next generation of these fish in a lab, these differences disappeared, suggesting that the environment plays a more crucial role in shaping the gut microbiome than genetics. Understanding these changes helps shed light on how animals and their associated microbiomes adapt to pollution, which can inform conservation efforts and our broader understanding of environmental impacts on host-microbe dynamics.
title Environmental and population influences on mummichog () gut microbiomes.
topic Fundulidae
Animals
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Bacteria
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Archaea
Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Fundulus heteroclitus
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39868785/