Host genotype-dependent gut microbiota drives zooplankton tolerance to toxic cyanobacteria

The gut microbiota impacts many aspects of its host’s biology, and is increasingly considered as a key factor mediating performance of host individuals in continuously changing environments. Here we use gut microbiota transplants to show that, in the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna, in addition to host genotype, gut microbiota mediates tolerance to toxic cyanobacteria. Interclonal variation in tolerance to cyanobacteria disappears when Daphnia are made germ-free and inoculated with an identical microbial inoculum. Instead, variation in tolerance among recipient Daphnia mirrors that of their donors. Metagenetic analyses point to host genotype and external microbial source as important determinants of gut microbiota assembly, and reveal strong differences in gut microbiota composition between tolerant and susceptible genotypes. Together, these results show that host genotype- and environmentally- induced variations in gut microbiota structure mediate Daphnia tolerance to toxic cyanobacteria, pointing to the gut microbiota as a driver of adaptation and acclimatization to cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in zooplankton.

Jaar van publicatie:2017

BOF-keylabel:ja

IOF-keylabel:ja

BOF-publication weight:6

CSS-citation score:2

Authors from:Higher Education

Toegankelijkheid:Open