Spatiotemporal variation in the fecal microbiota of mule deer is associated with proximate and future measures of host health

5Citations
Citations of this article
16Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Background: Mule deer rely on fat and protein stored prior to the winter season as an energy source during the winter months when other food sources are sparse. Since associated microorganisms (‘microbiota’) play a significant role in nutrient metabolism of their hosts, we predicted that variation in the microbiota might be associated with nutrient storage and overwintering in mule deer populations. To test this hypothesis we performed a 16S rRNA marker gene survey of fecal samples from two deer populations in the western United States before and after onset of winter. Results: PERMANOVA analysis revealed the deer microbiota varied interactively with geography and season. Further, using metadata collected at the time of sampling, we were able to identify different fecal bacterial taxa that could potentially act as bioindicators of mule deer health outcomes. First, we identified the abundance of Collinsella (family: Coriobacteriaceae) reads as a possible predictor of poor overwintering outcomes for deer herds in multiple locations. Second, we showed that reads assigned to the Bacteroides and Mollicutes Order RF39 were both positively correlated with deer protein levels, leading to the idea that these sequences might be useful in predicting mule deer protein storage. Conclusions: These analyses confirm that variation in the microbiota is associated with season-dependent health outcomes in mule deer, which may have useful implications for herd management strategies.

Author supplied keywords

References Powered by Scopus

DADA2: High-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data

19998Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Naïve Bayesian classifier for rapid assignment of rRNA sequences into the new bacterial taxonomy

16067Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Reproducible, interactive, scalable and extensible microbiome data science using QIIME 2

13266Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Analysis of the Intestinal and Faecal Bacterial Microbiota of the Cervidae Family Using 16S Next-Generation Sequencing: A Review

4Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

High-Energy Supplemental Feeding Shifts Gut Microbiota Composition and Function in Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

2Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) gut microbiome, seasonal dynamics, and potential application in lignocellulose bioconversion

0Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Eddington, H. S., Carroll, C., Larsen, R. T., McMillan, B. R., & Chaston, J. M. (2021). Spatiotemporal variation in the fecal microbiota of mule deer is associated with proximate and future measures of host health. BMC Veterinary Research, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-02972-0

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 8

100%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4

40%

Immunology and Microbiology 3

30%

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Bi... 2

20%

Social Sciences 1

10%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free