Alcohol consumption during pregnancy differentially affects the fecal microbiota of dams and offspring.

Microbiota imbalances are linked to inflammation and disease, as well as neurodevelopmental conditions where they may contribute to behavioral, physiological, and central nervous system dysfunction. By contrast, the role of the microbiota in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), the group of neurodevelopmental conditions that can occur following prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), has not received similar attention. Here we utilized a rodent model of alcohol consumption during pregnancy to characterize the impact of alcohol on the microbiota of dam-offspring dyads. Overall, bacterial diversity decreased in alcohol-consuming dams and community composition differed from that of controls in alcohol-consuming dams and their offspring. Bacterial taxa and predicted biochemical pathway composition were also altered with alcohol consumption/exposure; however, there was minimal overlap between the changes in dams and offspring. These findings illuminate the potential importance of the microbiota in the pathophysiology of FASD and support investigation into novel microbiota-based interventions.

The eukaryome of African children is influenced by geographic location, gut biogeography, and nutritional status.

Eukaryotes have historically been studied as parasites, but recent evidence suggests they may be indicators of a healthy gut ecosystem. Here, we describe the eukaryome along the gastrointestinal tract of children aged 2-5 years and test for associations with clinical factors such as anaemia, intestinal inflammation, chronic undernutrition, and age. Children were enrolled from December 2016 to May 2018 in Bangui, Central African Republic and Antananarivo, Madagascar. We analyzed a total of 1104 samples representing 212 gastric, 187 duodenal, and 705 fecal samples using a metabarcoding approach targeting the full ITS2 region for fungi, and the V4 hypervariable region of the 18S rRNA gene for the overall eukaryome. Roughly, half of all fecal samples showed microeukaryotic reads. We find high intersubject variability, only a handful of taxa that are likely residents of the gastrointestinal tract, and frequent co-occurrence of eukaryotes within an individual. We also find that the eukaryome differs between the stomach, duodenum, and feces and is strongly influenced by country of origin. Our data show trends towards higher levels of Fusarium equiseti, a mycotoxin producing fungus, and lower levels of the protist Blastocystis in stunted children compared to nonstunted controls. Overall, the eukaryome is poorly correlated with clinical variables. Our study is of one of the largest cohorts analyzing the human intestinal eukaryome to date and the first to compare the eukaryome across different compartments of the gastrointestinal tract. Our results highlight the importance of studying populations across the world to uncover common features of the eukaryome in health.

Blastocystis Colonization Alters the Gut Microbiome and, in Some Cases, Promotes Faster Recovery From Induced Colitis.

Protists are a normal component of mammalian intestinal ecosystems that live alongside, and interact with, bacterial microbiota. Blastocystis, one of the most common intestinal eukaryotes, is reported as a pathogen that causes inflammation and disease, though health consequences likely vary depending on host health, the gut ecosystem, and genetic diversity. Accumulating evidence suggests that Blastocystis is by and large commensal. Blastocystis is more common in healthy individuals than those with immune mediated diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Blastocystis presence is also associated with altered composition and higher richness of the bacterial gut microbiota. It is not clear whether Blastocystis directly promotes a healthy gut and microbiome or is more likely to colonize and persist in a healthy gut environment. We test this hypothesis by measuring the effect of Blastocystis ST3 colonization on the health and microbiota in a rat experimental model of intestinal inflammation using the haptenizing agent dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS). We experimentally colonized rats with Blastocystis ST3 obtained from a healthy, asymptomatic human donor and then induced colitis after 3 weeks (short term exposure experiment) or after 13 weeks (long term exposure experiment) and compared these colonized rats to a colitis-only control group. Across experiments Blastocystis ST3 colonization alters microbiome composition, but not richness, and induces only mild gut inflammation but no clinical symptoms. Our results showed no effect of short-term exposure to Blastocystis ST3 on gut inflammation following colitis induction. In contrast, long-term Blastocystis exposure appears to promote a faster recovery from colitis. There was a significant reduction in inflammatory markers, pathology 2 days after colitis induction in the colonized group, and clinical scores also improved in this group. Blastocystis colonization resulted in a significant reduction in tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and IL-1ß relative gene expression, while expression of IFNγ and IL17re/17C were elevated. We obtained similar results in a previous pilot study. We further found that bacterial richness rebounded in rats colonized by Blastocystis ST3. These results suggest that Blastocystis sp. may alter the gut ecosystem in a protective manner and promote faster recovery from disturbance.

Biodiversity of protists and nematodes in the wild nonhuman primate gut.

Documenting the natural diversity of eukaryotic organisms in the nonhuman primate (NHP) gut is important for understanding the evolution of the mammalian gut microbiome, its role in digestion, health and disease, and the consequences of anthropogenic change on primate biology and conservation. Despite the ecological significance of gut-associated eukaryotes, little is known about the factors that influence their assembly and diversity in mammals. In this study, we used an 18S rRNA gene fragment metabarcoding approach to assess the eukaryotic assemblage of 62 individuals representing 16 NHP species. We find that cercopithecoids, and especially the cercopithecines, have substantially higher alpha diversity than other NHP groups. Gut-associated protists and nematodes are widespread among NHPs, consistent with their ancient association with NHP hosts. However, we do not find a consistent signal of phylosymbiosis or host-species specificity. Rather, gut eukaryotes are only weakly structured by primate phylogeny with minimal signal from diet, in contrast to previous reports of NHP gut bacteria. The results of this study indicate that gut-associated eukaryotes offer different information than gut-associated bacteria and add to our understanding of the structure of the gut microbiome.

Disease avoidance, and breeding group age and size condition the dispersal patterns of western lowland gorilla females.

Social dispersal is an important feature of population dynamics. When female mammals occur in polygynous groups, their dispersal decisions are conditioned by various female-, male-, and group-related factors. Among them, the influence of disease often remains difficult to assess. To address this challenge, we used long-term monitoring data from two gorilla populations (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) affected by infectious skin disease lesions. After controlling for other potentially influential factors, we investigated to which extent disease avoidance drives the dispersal decisions of gorilla females. We showed that the infection of a silverback of a breeding group by the skin disease increased the probability of adult females to emigrate. Moreover, adult females avoided breeding groups with a high prevalence of skin disease by emigrating from them and immigrating into healthier ones. Age of the breeding group was also an important factor. Adult females left older groups, near the end of a male tenure, to join younger ones led by younger fully grown silverbacks that could be of high reproductive and protective value. Our study highlights that, although females select for high-quality males, disease avoidance is a critical driver of their dispersion decision.

Amphibian pathogens at northern latitudes: presence of chytrid fungus and ranavirus in northeastern Canada.

Infections by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and members of the genus Ranavirus (Rv) are increasingly reported as significant determinants of amphibian population die-offs. The complexity associated with their transmission and spatial distribution leads to an increase in demand for comprehensive reporting systems and global mapping of their distribution. Here, we document the distribution of these 2 pathogens in a remote northern temperate lowland where environmental sensitivity is high, providing important insight into the pathogens' natural history and infection patterns. Wood frog Lithobates sylvaticus tissues were collected from the James Bay area in northeastern Canada and were screened for the presence of Bd and Rv using conventional and real-time PCR. Both pathogens were present in the study area, which is the northernmost record in eastern North America. Interestingly, different patterns of distribution were observed between the eastern and western coasts of James Bay, suggesting differences in the spatial and transmission dynamics for each pathogen. Anthropogenic introduction may still influence the distribution patterns observed, even at these latitudes. The presence of infections in this remote area also raises further questions on the risk these pathogens pose to northern amphibian communities. We encourage further research in remote locations for a better understanding of these pathogens, their transmission dynamics, and especially their respective impacts on amphibian populations worldwide.