Environmental radiation alters the gut microbiome of the bank vole <i>Myodes glareolus</i>

Lavrinienko, Anton; Mappes, Tapio; Tukalenko, Eugene; Mousseau, Timothy A.; Møller, Anders Pape; Knight, Rob; Morton, James T.; Thompson, Luke R.; Watts, Phillip C.

doi:10.1038/s41396-018-0214-x

Cited by 57 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Bank voles were collected in July and October 2016. Bank voles were caught at 20 trapping locations within northern Ukraine (Tables S1-S3, Figure 1), using Ugglan Special2 live traps (Grahnab, Sweden) as previously described [42]. Briefly, at each location, 16 traps were placed in a 4 × 4 grid, with an intertrap distance of 20 m. The trapping period was up to three consecutive nights in each location.…”

Section: Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infection Load and Prevalence of Novel Viruses Identified from the Bank Vole Do Not Associate with Exposure to Environmental Radioactivity

Kesäniemi

Lavrinienko

Tukalenko

et al. 2019

Viruses

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Bank voles (Myodes glareolus) are host to many zoonotic viruses. As bank voles inhabiting areas contaminated by radionuclides show signs of immunosuppression, resistance to apoptosis, and elevated DNA repair activity, we predicted an association between virome composition and exposure to radionuclides. To test this hypothesis, we studied the bank vole virome in samples of plasma derived from animals inhabiting areas of Ukraine (contaminated areas surrounding the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, and uncontaminated areas close to Kyiv) that differed in level of environmental radiation contamination. We discovered four strains of hepacivirus and four new virus sequences: two adeno-associated viruses, an arterivirus, and a mosavirus. However, viral prevalence and viral load, and the ability to cause a systemic infection, was not dependent on the level of environmental radiation.

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Section: Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infection Load and Prevalence of Novel Viruses Identified from the Bank Vole Do Not Associate with Exposure to Environmental Radioactivity

Kesäniemi

Lavrinienko

Tukalenko

et al. 2019

Viruses

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“…With this in mind, a high level of radionuclides is associated with an altered gut microbiota in bank voles (Lavrinienko et al. ), potentially indicating that radiation exposure is associated with a change in diet. Another important ecological factor, predation rate, may also be lower in contaminated areas, since, for example, both avian (Møller and Mousseau ) and mammalian predators (Møller and Mousseau ) of rodents decrease in abundance in contaminated areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological mechanisms can modify radiation effects in a key forest mammal of Chernobyl

et al. 2019

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Nuclear accidents underpin the need to quantify the ecological mechanisms which determine injury to ecosystems from chronic low‐dose radiation. Here, we tested the hypothesis that ecological mechanisms interact with ionizing radiation to affect natural populations in unexpected ways. We used large‐scale replicated experiments and food manipulations in wild populations of the rodent, Myodes glareolus, inhabiting the region near the site of the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. We show linear decreases in breeding success with increasing ambient radiation levels with no evidence of any threshold below which effects are not seen. Food supplementation of experimental populations resulted in increased abundances but only in locations where radioactive contamination was low (i.e., below ≈ 1 μSv/h). In areas with higher contamination, food supplementation showed no detectable effects. These findings suggest that chronic low‐dose‐rate irradiation can decrease the stability of populations of key forest species, and these effects could potentially scale to broader community changes with concomitant consequences for the ecosystem functioning of forests impacted by nuclear accidents.

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“…The functions of gut microbiota are mainly determined by their composition, which is affected by various factors such as host genetic background, health condition, social behaviour and habitat environment factor [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Because of the importance of gut microbiota and other microbiome communities, some scientists suggest that the host and its microbiomes are considered as a biological unit subjected to natural selection [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has demonstrated that ruminants depend heavily on gut microbiota to digest fibre in the rumen and use products such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) to meet their energy needs [14,15]. Panda, which do not have a rumen, also rely on their microbiome to degrade hemicellulose and starch in bamboo [16].The functions of gut microbiota are mainly determined by their composition, which is affected by various factors such as host genetic background, health condition, social behaviour and habitat environment factor [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Because of the importance of gut microbiota and other microbiome communities, some scientists suggest that the host and its microbiomes are considered as a biological unit subjected to natural selection [25].…”

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confidence: 99%

Characterisation of the gut microbial community of rhesus macaques in high-altitude environments

Yao

Dong

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: The mammal intestinal microbiota is involved in various physiological processes and plays a key role in host environment adaption. However, for non-human primates (NHPs), little is known about their gut microbial community in high-altitude environments and even less about their adaption to such habitats. We characterised the gut microbial community of rhesus macaques from multiple high-altitude environments and compared it to those of low-altitude populations. Results: We collected faecal samples of rhesus macaques from four high-altitude populations (above 3,000 m) and three low-altitude populations (below 500 m). By calculating the alpha diversity index, we found that high-altitude populations exhibited a higher diversity. Statistical analysis of beta diversity indicated significant differences between high-and low-altitude populations. Significant differences were also detected at the phylum and family levels. At the phylum level, the high-altitude gut microbial community was dominated by Firmicutes (63.42%), while at low altitudes, it was dominated by Bacteroidetes (47.4%). At the family level, the high-altitude population was dominated by Ruminococcaceae (36.2%), while the low-altitude one was dominated by Prevotellaceae (39.6%).Some families, such as Christensenellaceae and Rikenellaceae, were consistently higher abundant in all high-altitude populations. We analysed the overlap of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in highaltitude populations and determined their core OTUs (shared by all four high-altitude populations).However, when compared with the low-altitude core OTUs, only 65% were shared, suggesting a divergence in core OTUs. Function prediction indicated a significant difference in gene copy number of 35 level-2 pathways between high-and low-altitude populations; 29 of them were higher in high altitudes, especially in membrane transport and carbohydrate metabolism. Conclusions: The gut microbial community of high-altitude rhesus macaques was significantly distinct from that of lowaltitude populations in terms of diversity, composition and function. High-altitude populations were dominated by Firmicutes and Ruminococcace, while in low-altitude populations, Bacteroidetes and Prevotellaceae were dominant. The difference in gut microbiota between these two populations may be caused by differences in host diet, environmental temperature and oxygen pressure. These differentiated gut microbial microorganisms may play a critical role in the adaptive evolution of 4 rhesus macaques to high-altitude environments. BackgroundThe gastrointestinal tract of animals is habited by a complex microbial community, known collectively as the gut or intestinal microbiota. There is increasing evidence that the gut microbial community of animals is involved in a wide range of processes in the host, including health, grow and development as well as behaviour; it can even affect the nervous system by secreting metabolites [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. These microbes can also assist in energy uptake and meta...

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Environmental radiation alters the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus

Cited by 57 publications

References 31 publications

Infection Load and Prevalence of Novel Viruses Identified from the Bank Vole Do Not Associate with Exposure to Environmental Radioactivity

Infection Load and Prevalence of Novel Viruses Identified from the Bank Vole Do Not Associate with Exposure to Environmental Radioactivity

Ecological mechanisms can modify radiation effects in a key forest mammal of Chernobyl

Characterisation of the gut microbial community of rhesus macaques in high-altitude environments

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