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A Method to Define the Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Colon Microbiome Biodiversity in a Mouse Colon Tumor Model
Published on: February 28, 2018
Host genetic and environmental effects on mouse intestinal microbiota
James H Campbell1, Carmen M Foster, Tatiana Vishnivetskaya
1Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
The ISME Journal
|June 15, 2012
Summary
Host genetics significantly shapes gut microbial communities in mice, with environmental factors playing a smaller role. This research provides a foundation for understanding host-microbiota interactions in complex trait analysis.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Animal Science
Background:
- Mammalian gut microbiota are complex and variable.
- Host genetics and environmental factors influence gut microbial communities, but their specific roles are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of host genetics and environment on cecum microbial assemblages in inbred mouse strains.
- To establish a baseline analysis of intestinal bacterial communities in Collaborative Cross (CC) progenitor strains.
Main Methods:
- Barcoded pyrosequencing of bacterial small subunit ribosomal RNA genes (V1-2 and V4 regions).
- Phylogenetic and distance-based sequence-clustering approaches to characterize microbial diversity.
- Analysis of gut microbiota in 10 genetically distinct inbred mouse strains, including eight CC progenitor strains.
Main Results:
- Significant correlations were observed between mouse strains and their distinct gut microbiota.
- Cohabitation and litter had a detectable but reduced effect on microbiota, varying by mouse strain.
- Specific bacterial phylotypes were identified as discriminative and strain-specific.
Conclusions:
- Host genetics is a primary driver of gut bacterial community structure in mice.
- Environmental factors interact with host genetics, influencing microbiota composition.
- This study provides crucial baseline data for future host genotype-phenotype-microbiota research using the CC panel.
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