Environmental Radiation Alters the Gut Microbiome of the Bank Vole Myodes glareolus
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-9-2018
Department
Biological Sciences
School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Abstract
Gut microbiota composition depends on many factors, although the impact of environmental pollution is largely unknown. We used amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to quantify whether anthropogenic radionuclides at Chernobyl (Ukraine) impact the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Exposure to elevated levels of environmental radionuclides had no detectable effect on the gut community richness but was associated with an almost two-fold increase in the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Animals inhabiting uncontaminated areas had remarkably similar gut communities irrespective of their proximity to the nuclear power plant. Hence, samples could be classified to high-radiation or low-radiation sites based solely on microbial community with >90% accuracy. Radiation-associated bacteria had distinct inferred functional profiles, including pathways involved in degradation, assimilation and transport of carbohydrates, xenobiotics biodegradation, and DNA repair. Our results suggest that exposure to environmental radionuclides significantly alters vertebrate gut microbiota.
Publication Title
The ISME Journal
Volume
12
First Page
2801
Last Page
2806
Recommended Citation
Lavrinienko, A.,
Mappes, T.,
Tukalenko, E.,
Mousseau, T. A.,
Møller, A. P.,
Knight, R.,
Morton, J. T.,
Thompson, L. R.,
Watts, P. C.
(2018). Environmental Radiation Alters the Gut Microbiome of the Bank Vole Myodes glareolus. The ISME Journal, 12, 2801-2806.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/16611