First report on metagenomic analysis of gut microbiome in Island Flying
Fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) revealing latitudinal correlation as opposed
to host phylogeny in island populations of Malaysia
Abstract
Flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) belongs to the frugivorous bats, which
play a crucial role in maintaining proper functioning of an ecosystem
and conservation of environment. Bats are well known carriers of
pathogenic viruses such as BatCov RaTG13 from the coronavirus family
that share 90.55% with SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen causing recent global
pandemic coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). However, bats’ possible role
as a carrier of pathogenic bacteria is less explored. Here, using
metagenomic analysis through high-throughput sequencing, we explored the
gut microbiome composition of different island populations on the east
and west coasts of Peninsula Malaysia. The 16S rRNA gene in samples from
Redang Island, Langkawi Island, Pangkor Island and Tinggi Island was
amplified. Bacterial community composition and structure were analyzed
with α and β diversity metrics. In contrast to recent studies of
host-microbe associations in other mammals, we found no correlation
between host phylogeny and bacterial community dissimilarity across four
island populations. Our analyses suggest that the significant linear
relationship between Redang Island and Langkawi Island implies high
bacteria diversity which supporting latitudinal correlation. We found
geographic locality is a strong predictor of microbial community
composition and observed a positive correlation between ecological
features and bacterial richness.