Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla)

Klára Vlčková; Andres Gomez; Klára J. Petrželková; Christopher A. Whittier; Angelique F. Todd; Carl J. Yeoman; Karen E. Nelson; Brenda A. Wilson; Rebecca M. Stumpf; David Modrý; Bryan A. White; Steven R. Leigh

doi:10.1007/s00248-016-0745-5

Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla)

Klára Vlčková, Andres Gomez, Klára J. Petrželková, Christopher A. Whittier, Angelique F. Todd, Carl J. Yeoman, Karen E. Nelson, Brenda A. Wilson, Rebecca M. Stumpf, David Modrý, Bryan A. White, Steven R. Leigh

Animal Science

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15 Scopus citations

Abstract

The mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome, which plays indispensable roles in host nutrition and health, is affected by numerous intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Among them, antibiotic (ATB) treatment is reported to have a significant effect on GI microbiome composition in humans and other animals. However, the impact of ATBs on the GI microbiome of free-ranging or even captive great apes remains poorly characterized. Here, we investigated the effect of cephalosporin treatment (delivered by intramuscular dart injection during a serious respiratory outbreak) on the GI microbiome of a wild habituated group of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. We examined 36 fecal samples from eight individuals, including samples before and after ATB treatment, and characterized the GI microbiome composition using Illumina-MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The GI microbial profiles of samples from the same individuals before and after ATB administration indicate that the ATB treatment impacts GI microbiome stability and the relative abundance of particular bacterial taxa within the colonic ecosystem of wild gorillas. We observed a statistically significant increase in Firmicutes and a decrease in Bacteroidetes levels after ATB treatment. We found disruption of the fibrolytic community linked with a decrease of Ruminoccocus levels as a result of ATB treatment. Nevertheless, the nature of the changes observed after ATB treatment differs among gorillas and thus is dependent on the individual host. This study has important implications for ecology, management, and conservation of wild primates.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	943-954
Number of pages	12
Journal	Microbial ecology
Volume	72
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0745-5
State	Published - Nov 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We express our gratitude to the Government of the Central African Republic and to the World Wildlife Fund for granting permission to conduct our research in the Central African Republic, the Primate Habituation Programme (Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas) for the logistical support in the field, and all local trackers and assistants from Bai Hokou for their help with sample collection. Moreover, we would like to thank to Zoo Liberec for the financial support during ATB treatment of gorillas. We thank to the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, High-Throughput Sequencing and Genotyping Unit, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for providing the amplicon sequencing using Illumina MiSeq Platform. This publication derives from the HPI-Lab, Laboratory for Infectious Diseases Common to Humans and (Non-Human) Primates, Czech Republic. This work was financially supported by the Internal Grant Agency of University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno 47/2013/FVL, by the institutional support of the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (RVO 68081766), and co-financed from European Social Fund and State Budget of the Czech Republic (project OPVK CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0300). Sequencing was supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) 0935347 and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Keywords

Antibiotics
Bacteria
Gastrointestinal microbiome
Gorilla
Illumina MiSeq
Medical treatment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Vlčková, K., Gomez, A., Petrželková, K. J., Whittier, C. A., Todd, A. F., Yeoman, C. J., Nelson, K. E., Wilson, B. A., Stumpf, R. M., Modrý, D., White, B. A., & Leigh, S. R. (2016). Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla). Microbial ecology, 72(4), 943-954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0745-5

Vlčková, K, Gomez, A, Petrželková, KJ, Whittier, CA, Todd, AF, Yeoman, CJ, Nelson, KE, Wilson, BA, Stumpf, RM, Modrý, D, White, BA & Leigh, SR 2016, 'Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla)', Microbial ecology, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 943-954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0745-5

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note = "Funding Information: We express our gratitude to the Government of the Central African Republic and to the World Wildlife Fund for granting permission to conduct our research in the Central African Republic, the Primate Habituation Programme (Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas) for the logistical support in the field, and all local trackers and assistants from Bai Hokou for their help with sample collection. Moreover, we would like to thank to Zoo Liberec for the financial support during ATB treatment of gorillas. We thank to the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, High-Throughput Sequencing and Genotyping Unit, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for providing the amplicon sequencing using Illumina MiSeq Platform. This publication derives from the HPI-Lab, Laboratory for Infectious Diseases Common to Humans and (Non-Human) Primates, Czech Republic. This work was financially supported by the Internal Grant Agency of University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno 47/2013/FVL, by the institutional support of the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (RVO 68081766), and co-financed from European Social Fund and State Budget of the Czech Republic (project OPVK CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0300). Sequencing was supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) 0935347 and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.",

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Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla)

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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