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Updated: Sep 16, 2025
Testing for Odor Discrimination and Habituation in Mice
Published on: May 5, 2015
The mouse gut microbiota responds to predator odor and predicts host behavior
Madalena V F Real1,2, Maren N Vitousek1, Michael J Sheehan3
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Abstract:
Chronic stressors can alter the mammalian gut microbiota in ways that mediate host stress responses, but the impacts of acute stressors on these interactions are less well understood. Here, we show that brief exposure of wild-derived mice to predator odor altered gut-microbiota composition, which in turn predicted host behavior. We investigated the individual and combined effects of 15-minute exposures to synthetic fox fecal odor and 30 days of chronic social isolation, an established chronic stressor. Using ethological assays, visceral adipose tissue transcriptomics, and genome-resolved metagenomics, we found that predator-odor exposure significantly affected mouse behavior, gene expression, and gut microbiota. Predator odor-responsive bacteria were associated with the expression of genes involved in anti-microbial defense, and host behavioral responses were predicted by random forest models trained on gut-microbiota profiles. These findings indicate interactions between the gut microbiota and wild-mouse responses to the threat of predation, an ecologically relevant acute stressor.
Insights
Acute predator odor exposure significantly altered mouse gut microbiota, influencing host behavior and gene expression. These microbial changes predicted behavioral responses, highlighting the gut microbiome's role in acute stress reactions.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Chronic stress impacts mammalian gut microbes, influencing host responses.
- The effects of acute stressors on gut microbiota and their interaction with host stress responses are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of acute predator odor exposure on the gut microbiota and host stress responses in wild-derived mice.
- To determine how acute stressors interact with chronic stress paradigms like social isolation.
Main Methods:
- Experimental exposure of mice to synthetic fox odor and social isolation.
- Behavioral assays, visceral adipose tissue transcriptomics, and metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) analysis.
- Random forest classification to predict host behavior from gut microbiota composition.
Main Results:
- Brief predator odor exposure had a stronger impact on gut microbiota and gene expression than prolonged social isolation.
- Predator odor-responsive bacteria abundances predicted host grooming, social behaviors, and antimicrobial defense gene expression.
- Gut microbiota composition significantly predicted behavioral variation within treatment groups.
Conclusions:
- Acute predator odor exposure alters gut microbial communities in wild-derived mice.
- The gut microbiota plays a significant role in mediating host responses to acute, ecologically relevant stressors like predation threat.
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