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Gut Microbiome-Metabolome Reconfiguration Associates With Phenotypic Plasticity of Daphnia Under Predation Risk
Qi Liu1, Yiru Shen1, Yunfei Sun1
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.
Molecular Ecology
|July 2, 2026
Summary
Predation risk alters Daphnia magna's gut microbes and metabolites, impacting energy and growth. These shifts may mediate the trade-off between survival and reproduction under environmental stress.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Predation is a key driver of phenotypic plasticity in aquatic organisms.
- Gut microbiota and their metabolism influence host fitness and responses to environmental changes.
- Limited understanding exists on how predation risk reshapes gut metabolite profiles and links to host defense.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate coordinated shifts in gut microbes and metabolites of Daphnia magna exposed to fish kairomones.
- To explore the link between these microbial and metabolic changes and Daphnia's defensive strategies.
- To understand the functional role of gut microbe-metabolite interactions in adaptation to predation risk.
Main Methods:
- Phenotypic assays to assess host defenses.
- 16S rDNA sequencing for gut microbial composition analysis.
- Metabolomic analysis to profile gut metabolites.
Main Results:
- Fish kairomone exposure induced coordinated shifts in Daphnia magna's gut microbes and metabolites.
- Enrichment of Selenomonadaceae and Sporichthyaceae correlated with reduced purines (dAMP, adenine), suggesting impaired nucleotide synthesis and ATP production.
- Microbial changes were linked to reduced PGD2, potentially affecting neuroactive pathways, cell proliferation, and leading to smaller body size.
- These alterations suggest an energy reallocation from growth to reproduction.
Conclusions:
- Gut microbe-metabolite interactions may mediate the growth-survival trade-off in Daphnia under predation risk.
- Findings highlight the functional role of the gut microbiome in host ecological adaptation.
- Further experimental validation is needed to confirm the proposed mechanisms.
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