Microbial community composition variation in relation to malaria infections in Junco hyemalis

The association between gut microbiota community composition and parasitic infections can result in complex interactions that impact host health. Determining whether microbiota composition impacts a host's susceptibility to infections or parasitic infections that alter the microbiota will have important implications for mitigation strategies. In this study, we characterized and compared the microbiota of eight wild Oregon Juncos (Junco hyemalis) infected with Plasmodium relictum GRW04 and eight non-infected individuals. Our results found that alpha diversity was significantly lower in infected birds. Based on beta diversity metrics, compositional turnover was primarily among rare bacterial taxa. The taxa Muribaculaceae, Acidobacteriales, Pseudomonas and Escherichia-Shingella were depleted in infected birds. When comparing co-occurrence networks of bacterial communities, the microbiota of infected birds had fewer connections and hub taxa were missing compared to non-infected birds. These results show stronger evidence for parasite-mediated microbiota composition and may correspond with characteristics associated with dysbiosis. Through future studies, it may be possible to determine whether these observed changes to microbial communities correlate with alterations to gut microbiota functions or detrimentally impact host health.