The Lizard Gut Microbiome Changes with Temperature and Is Associated with Heat Tolerance.

Vertebrates harbor trillions of microorganisms in the gut, collectively termed the gut microbiota, which affect a wide range of host functions. Recent experiments in lab-reared vertebrates have shown that changes in environmental temperature can induce shifts in the gut microbiota, and in some cases these shifts have been shown to affect host thermal physiology. However, there is a lack of information about the effects of temperature on the gut microbiota of wild-caught vertebrates. Moreover, in ectotherms, which are particularly vulnerable to changing temperature regimens, the extent to which microbiota composition is shaped by temperature and associated with host thermal tolerance has not been investigated. To address these issues, we monitored the gut microbiota composition of wild-caught western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) experimentally exposed to a cool-to-warm temperature transition. Comparing experimentally exposed and control lizards indicated that warm temperatures altered and destabilized the composition of the S. occidentalis gut microbiota. Warming drove a significant reduction in the relative abundances of a clade of Firmicutes, a significant increase in the rate of compositional turnover in the gut microbiota within individual lizards, and increases in the abundances of bacteria from predicted pathogenic clades. In addition, the composition of the microbiota was significantly associated with the thermal tolerance of lizards measured at the end of the experiment. These results suggest that temperature can alter the lizard gut microbiota, with potential implications for the physiological performance and fitness of natural populations.IMPORTANCE Gut microbial communities affect their animal hosts in numerous ways, motivating investigations of the factors that shape the gut microbiota and the consequences of gut microbiota variation for host traits. In this study, we tested the effects of increases in environmental temperatures on the gut microbiota of fence lizards, a vertebrate ectotherm threatened by warming climates. By monitoring lizards and their gut microbes during an experimental temperature treatment, we showed that the warming altered and destabilized the lizard gut microbiota. Moreover, measuring thermal performance of lizard hosts at the end of the experiment indicated that the composition of the gut microbiota was associated with host thermal tolerance. These results indicate that warming temperatures can alter the gut microbiota of vertebrate ectotherms and suggest relationships between variation in the gut microbiota and the thermal physiology of natural host populations.

Contextualizing negative sense of community and disconnection among urban youth of color: "Community We ain't got that".

We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth (N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection that highlight perceived lack of membership, needs fulfillment, influence, and overall emotional connection to their community. Unpacking youth's perceptions of their community, we suggest that-in the face of such realities-community-based organizations, such as those the youth find themselves in, aid in creating connectedness and help heal youth from the effects of social conditions experienced daily.

Community coalitions as spaces for collective voice, action, and the sharing of resources.

This study examined how a community coalition, focused on prevention efforts, can aid in bridging resources between community organizations in a resource-deprived area. We also explored how it may serve as a venue to support significant changes to the community, adults, and youth who live there. Drawing on 18 individual interviews with adult coalition members from various community organizations, in a large, underserved city in the northeastern United States, we examined these data for narrations of the coalition's place within the broader prevention community and how the coalition may be an organizational venue for collective voice. We were specifically interested in hearing if these adult community members saw the coalition as filling a gap within their community. Our data revealed that while organizations within the community have been decimated due to reduced funding, the present coalition aided in meeting a variety of needs. These needs included the facilitation of community voice while helping to bridge resources between organizations, which would otherwise work alone.

Draft genome sequences of eight bacterial isolates from Pisum sativum leaf surfaces.

Bacterial communities in the phyllosphere, the above-ground parts of plants, are diverse yet understudied. These bacteria are important for plant health and also for inter-kingdom interactions with beneficial and pest insect species. Here, we present draft genomes of eight culturable bacterial isolates from leaf surfaces in the Pisum sativum phyllosphere.

Exopolysaccharide production in Caulobacter crescentus: A resource allocation trade-off between protection and proliferation.

Complex and interacting selective pressures can produce bacterial communities with a range of phenotypes. One measure of bacterial success is the ability of cells or populations to proliferate while avoiding lytic phage infection. Resistance against bacteriophage infection can occur in the form of a metabolically expensive exopolysaccharide capsule. Here, we show that in Caulobacter crescentus, presence of an exopolysaccharide capsule provides measurable protection against infection from a lytic paracrystalline S-layer bacteriophage (CR30), but at a metabolic cost that reduces success in a phage-free environment. Carbon flux through GDP-mannose 4,6 dehydratase in different catabolic and anabolic pathways appears to mediate this trade-off. Together, our data support a model in which diversity in bacterial communities may be maintained through variable selection on phenotypes utilizing the same metabolic pathway.