Coprophagy prevention alters microbiome, metabolism, neurochemistry, and cognitive behavior in a small mammal

Abstract

Many small mammals engage in coprophagy, or the behavior of consuming feces, as a means to meet nutritional requirements when feeding on low-quality foods. In addition to nutritional benefits, coprophagy may also help herbivores retain necessary gut microbial diversity and function, which may have downstream physiological effects, such as maintaining energy balance and cognitive function. Here, we used collars to prevent Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii) from engaging in coprophagy and monitored changes in microbial community structure, energy metabolism, and cognitive performance. In this research, we found that coprophagy prevention decreased alpha diversity of the gut microbiota, and altered proportions of microbial taxa such as Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Oscillospira. Preventing coprophagy resulted in a reduced body mass, and increased food intake. Importantly, coprophagy prevention decreased vole cognitive behavior and altered levels of neurotransmitters in brain. Daily acetate administration was able to reverse some of the coprophagy prevention-induced changes in microbiota composition, metabolism, neurochemistry, and cognitive behavior. These findings identify the functional importance of coprophagy behavior and interactions between the gut microbiota, energy metabolism, and neurological function. Our results suggest that coprophagy contributes to stabilizing the gut microbiota, promoting microbial metabolism, maintaining host energy balance and, consequently, altering cognitive performance.

Composition and acquisition of the microbiome in solitary, ground-nesting alkali bees

“…Communities of bacterial symbionts play an important role in animal biology, but the factors that shape the composition and acquisition of the microbiome are known for relatively few species. Rapid advancement in microbiome research has demonstrated that bacterial symbionts can influence host nutrition 1 – 3 , immunity 3 – 5 , and behavior 6 – 8 . Thus, understanding the health, physiology, or evolutionary ecology 9 of any given animal species is incomplete without knowledge of their associated microbes.…”

Social behavior of musk deer during the mating season potentially influences the diversity of their gut microbiome

“…Some additional factors may have influenced the gut microbiome community within each breeding region. When living in the same cage, resulting in exposure to feces and coprophagy ( Bo et al, 2020 ; Ridaura et al, 2013 ), mice have been found to share the same gut microbiome, leading to the similarity in the gut microbiome community. Here, each breeding region has several activity areas for the doe after their baby deer weaning (about September), and each activity area has about five mother deer and they live together for recovering (about two months) until the next mating season.…”

Longitudinal effects of antibiotics and fecal transplant on lemur gut microbiota structure, associations, and resistomes

“…In fecal transfaunation, for example, a ‘healthy’ or ‘native’ community of microbes sourced from feces is transferred into a dysbiotic community to combat pathogens and promote the growth of beneficial microbes 31,32 . Because coprophagy (the ingestion of fecal material either directly or via prey consumption) bolsters gut microbiota during development or illness 33,34 , medical practitioners have examined the use of fecal transfaunations to treat gastrointestinal distress in a wide range of host taxa 35,36 . As in studies of antibiotics, however, the effects of fecal transfaunation are best understood in the context of infection (with e.g.…”