Meeting Abstract

86.2  Monday, Jan. 6 10:15  Species-specific assembly of the gut microbiota in lemurs MCKENNEY, EA*; RODRIGO, A; YODER, AD; Duke University; NESCent; Duke Lemur Center eam50@duke.edu

Microorganisms begin to colonize the infant gut soon after birth and play a crucial role in facilitating gastrointestinal (GI) and immune development. Gut microbial communities also protect against invasive pathogens and unlock indigestible food components such as fiber as infants begin to consume solid foods. Yet, despite the importance of the initial colonization of the sterile GI tract, little is understood of the assembly process. Our project examines the GI colonization process in three species of lemurs, Varecia variegata (frugivores), Lemur catta (generalists), and Propithecus coquereli (folivores). These three deep lineages have evolved distinct GI tract morphologies coupled with distinct feeding strategies. Fifty-eight fresh fecal samples were collected from infant lemurs at birth, weaning, introduction of solid foods, regular intake of solid foods, weaning I, weaning II; and from dams at parturition to assess the impact of maternal signatures and to compare infant succession trajectories. All samples were stored at -80°C until bacterial DNA was extracted with the QIAamp Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN). Universal PCR primers 515F (GTGCCAGCMGCCGCGGTAA) and 806R (GGACTACHVGGGTWTCTAAT) were used to amplify a region of 16S rDNA for paired-end sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. The 16S reads were analyzed using Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) software to classify microbial constituents and compare membership between samples. Results show that samples from birth and nursing contain predominantly the phylum Proteobacteria, while Firmicutes and Bacterioidetes are dominant and biodiversity increases after infants begin eating solid foods. Gut communities converge with age toward putative species-specific core microbiomes.