Gut microbiomes of sympatric Amazonian wood‐eating catfishes (Loricariidae) reflect host identity and little role in wood digestion

McCauley, Mark; German, Donovan P.; Lujan, Nathan K.; Jackson, Colin R.

doi:10.1002/ece3.6413

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The analysis of gut microbiota among stickleback populations performed by Smith et al (2015) attributed the bacterial differences mainly to host genotype, although they were not able to discriminate between long term and transient inhabitants. Similar results were found recently in the gut microbiota of sympatric wood-eating catfishes (McCauley et al 2020) and between the skin and gut microbiota of three different species of fishes in Amazonian rivers, where results suggest a strong correlation with host ancestry (Sylvain et al 2020). In opposition, Bledsoe et al (2018) found that shared environment could overcome the differences in the gut microbiota imposed by the host genotype, a proposal that is also supported in other studies such as that performed by Riiser et al, (2020) who found that the gut microbiota between different fish species in Norway is driven by water temperature and diet and not with host selection.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“Unraveling the Gut Microbiota Composition of the Genus Herichthys (Cichliformes:Pisces)”

Mejía¹,

Quinto²,

Acata³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background The coevolution between hosts and their gut microbiota arises as a promissory research program that could explain diversity patterns. The fishes of the cichlid family are an ideal model to evaluate coevolution due to their spectacular radiation. In particular, the neotropical genus Herichthys represents a great study case of study since it includes species with wide and narrow distributions, with several feeding habits as well as species that arose allopatrically and truly sympatrically. We used the hypervariable V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene from the 11 species of the genus Herichthys obtained from museum collections to evaluate the existence of phylosymbiosis between the fishes and their gut microbiota. Results The highest diversity values of gut microbiota diversity were found in the detritivorous species while the herbivorous, molluscivorous, and piscivorous showed the lowest diversity values. Differences in gut microbiota were found between species and trophic guilds, in particular for the sympatric species comparison. The phylosymbiosis test was significant showing that the evolution of the gut microbiota is different in species that arise in allopatric and sympatric conditions. Conclusions The most abundant phyla recovered from the gut microbiota were similar to those previously reported in other studies with cichlids supporting the idea that a gut microbial core is conserved in this group of fishes despite millions of years of evolution. Despite the caveats of working with museum specimens, our results provide evidence that gut microbiota divergence could occur even in sympatric conditions and reveals the potential use of museum collections in gut microbiota studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“Unraveling the Gut Microbiota Composition of the Genus Herichthys (Cichliformes:Pisces)”

Mejía¹,

Quinto²,

Acata³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…This, in addition to digestive enzyme activity profiles and fermentation levels in the gastrointestinal tract, suggests that wood‐eating armored catfishes are consuming detritus rather than wood (German 2009). Further, the microbiomes of wood‐eating loricariids suggest minimal digestion of wood, meaning these fishes may rely on microbes in the environment to degrade wood fiber (McCauley et al 2020). This further supports our hypothesis that jaw shape in armored catfishes is associated with the surface type they are feeding on and items that are assimilated are similar.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New method of isotopic analysis: baseline‐standardized isotope vector analysis shows trophic partitioning in loricariids

Black

Armbruster

2021

Ecosphere

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Stable isotope analyses have refined the study of trophic niche diversity within an ecosystem, yet traditional trophic partitioning methods may not be appropriate to identify variation among groups with similar dietary requirements. By building on vector-based analyses, we introduce a baselinestandardized isotopic vector analysis (BaSIVA) to visualize dietary variation while accounting for isotopic discrepancies between locations. To test the effectiveness of our new method, we collected muscle samples from eleven species of Loricarioidea in five assemblages in Northern Peru. Loricarioidea is a large, ecomorphologically diverse superfamily of scraping-feeding fishes. Most feed on an indistinguishable mix of detritus and algae, but some lineages have specialized diets of wood, seeds, and macroinvertebrates, making them an excellent group to study trophic variation. Isotopic data were collected using mass spectrometric isotope analyses, and communities were standardized by calculating a mean baseline (algae and periphyton) for each location. The entire community was shifted by subtracting the baseline of 15 N and 13 C from the consumers at each location, which allowed for comparison between assemblages. Incremental differences of 15 N and 13 C from the baseline were found via vector analysis, and the azimuth and module of each consumer were calculated. Standardization resulted in a significant shift of assemblages within the isotopic biplot, and vector analysis shows three trophic groups primarily described by differences in carbon assimilation. Isotopic variation between species may account for some diversification in jaw shape within the Loricarioidea, but BaSIVA suggests several instances of trophic overlap in different jaw morphologies. Moreover, results from BaSIVA are better able to delineate trophic groups than traditional trophic positioning methods while accounting for variation in basal resources. We suggest a baseline-standardized vector analysis should be the standard for vector-based stable isotope analysis in riverine environments with similar baseline resources.

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“…Sequencing gut contents could be another possibility for better establishing what loricariids feed upon, but loricariids consume mostly indigestible material. For example, although wood-eaters consume wood, they are not likely digesting it [64][65][66]. Determining what is in the gut of a loricariid may not be reflective of what loricariids are digesting and assimilating.…”

Section: And S3 Fig)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These taxa have very different teeth suggesting that changing teeth with similar jaw morphologies may allow for accessing different food items. Yet, determining diet type remains a problem with loricariids due to indistinguishable gut contents and the quick gut passage rates that limit the important dietary material in the intestinal track [64][65][66].…”

Section: And S3 Fig)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Chew on this: Oral jaw shape is not correlated with diet type in loricariid catfishes

Black

Armbruster²

2022

PLoS ONE

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The correlation between form and function is influenced by biomechanical constraints, natural selection, and ecological interactions. In many species of suction-feeding fishes, jaw shape has shown to be closely associated with diet. However, these correlations have not been tested in fishes that have more complex jaw functions. For example, the neotropical loricariid catfishes possess a ventrally facing oral disk, which allows for the oral jaws to adhere to surfaces to conduct feeding. To determine if jaw shape is correlated to diet type, we assessed oral jaw shape across 36 species using CT scans. Shape was quantified with traditional and automated landmarking in 3DSlicer, and diet type correlation was calculated using the phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) method. We found that traditional and automated processes captured shape effectively when all jaw components were combined. PGLS found that diet type did not correlate to jaw shape; however, there was a correlation between clades with diverse diets and fast evolutionary rates of shape. These results suggest that shape is not constrained to diet type, and that similarly shaped jaws coupled with different types of teeth could allow the fishes to feed on a wide range of materials.

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Gut microbiomes of sympatric Amazonian wood‐eating catfishes (Loricariidae) reflect host identity and little role in wood digestion

Cited by 17 publications

References 56 publications

“Unraveling the Gut Microbiota Composition of the Genus Herichthys (Cichliformes:Pisces)”

“Unraveling the Gut Microbiota Composition of the Genus Herichthys (Cichliformes:Pisces)”

New method of isotopic analysis: baseline‐standardized isotope vector analysis shows trophic partitioning in loricariids

Chew on this: Oral jaw shape is not correlated with diet type in loricariid catfishes

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