Ecological Specialization Within a Carnivorous Fish Family Is Supported by a Herbivorous Microbiome Shaped by a Combination of Gut Traits and Specific Diet

Type Article
Date 2021-02
Language English
Author(s) Escalas Arthur2, Auguet Jean-Christophe2, Avouac Amandine2, Seguin Raphaël2, Gradel Antoine1, Borrossi Lucie2, Villéger Sébastien2
Affiliation(s) 1 : MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, Montpellier, France
2 : MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, IFREMER, Montpellier, France
Source Frontiers In Marine Science (2296-7745) (Frontiers Media SA), 2021-02 , Vol. 8 , P. 622883 (14p.)
DOI 10.3389/fmars.2021.622883
WOS© Times Cited 25
Keyword(s) fish gut microbiome, Sparidae, phylosymbiosis, morphological traits, diet, herbivory, ecological outlier
Abstract

Animals have been developing key associations with micro-organisms through evolutionary processes and ecological diversification. Hence, in some host clades, phylogenetic distance between hosts is correlated to dissimilarity in microbiomes, a pattern called phylosymbiosis. Teleost fishes, despite being the most diverse and ancient group of vertebrates, have received little attention from the microbiome perspective and our understanding of its determinants is currently limited. In this study, we assessed the gut microbiome of 12 co-occurring species of teleost representing a large breadth of ecological diversity and originating from a single family (i.e., the Sparidae). We tested how host evolutionary history, diet composition and morphological traits are related to fish gut microbiome. Despite fish species having different microbiomes, there is no phylosymbiosis signal in this fish family, but gut length and diet had a strong influence on the microbiome. We revealed that the only species with a specialized herbivorous diet, Sarpa salpa had a 3.3 times longer gut than carnivorous species and such a long gut favor the presence of anaerobic bacteria typical of herbivorous gut microbiomes. Hence, dietary uniqueness is paired with both unique gut anatomy and unique microbiome.

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How to cite 

Escalas Arthur, Auguet Jean-Christophe, Avouac Amandine, Seguin Raphaël, Gradel Antoine, Borrossi Lucie, Villéger Sébastien (2021). Ecological Specialization Within a Carnivorous Fish Family Is Supported by a Herbivorous Microbiome Shaped by a Combination of Gut Traits and Specific Diet. Frontiers In Marine Science, 8, 622883 (14p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.622883 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00682/79408/