Association between gut health and gut microbiota in a polluted
environment
- Toni Jernfors
, - Anton Lavrinienko
, - Igor Vareniuk,
- Rikard Landberg,
- Rikard Fristedt,
- Olena Tkachenko,
- Sara Taskinen,
- Eugene Tukalenko,
- Tapio Mappes,
- Phillip Watts
Igor Vareniuk
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Author ProfileOlena Tkachenko
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Author ProfileEugene Tukalenko
Institute for Nuclear Research NAS of Ukraine
Author ProfileAbstract
Animals host complex bacterial communities in their gastrointestinal
tracts, with which they share a mutualistic interaction. The numerous
effects these interactions grant to the host include regulation of the
immune system, defense against pathogen invasion, aid in digestion of
otherwise indigestible foodstuffs and even changing host behaviour.
Stress, such as environmental pollution, parasites, predators and
intraspecies competition, can alter the composition of the gut
microbiome, which in turn can change host-microbiome interactions in
ways that are detrimental to the host such as causing metabolic
dysfunction and inflammation. While host-microbiome interactions have
been extensively studied in humans and captive animals, studies into
wild animal microbiomes have been scarce. We assessed effects of
disturbed environment on gut health of bank voles exposed to
radionuclides in natural habitat using a combined approach of
transcriptomics, microbial community analysis by 16S amplicon
sequencing, histological staining analyses of colon tissue and
quantification of gut microbiota -produced short-chain fatty acids in
faecal matter and blood that act as mediators of host-microbiome
interactions. We found signs of weakened mucus layer and related changes
in Clca1 and Agr2 gene expression and microbiome composition in animals
exposed to radionuclides. These results imply that disturbed environment
can have widely reaching effects through gut health.