Characterization of the bacterial microbiota in different gut and oral compartments of splendid japalure (Japalura sensu lato)

Abstract

Background: Gut and oral microbes form complex communities and play key roles in co-evolution with their hosts. However, little is understood about the bacterial community in lizards.

Results: In this study, we investigated the gut and oral bacterial communities in Japalura sensu lato from Sichuan Province, China, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that Bacteroidota (36.5%) and Firmicutes (32.8%) were the main phyla in the gut, while Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteriota were the dominant phyla in the oral cavity. 16 S rRNA sequencing analysis of fecal samples showed that: (1) Bacteroidota was the most abundant in Japalura sensu lato, which was different from the bacterial community of insectivorous animals; (2) Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, Fusobacteriota, and Cyanobacteria were the most abundant phylum in Japalura sensu lato. (3) Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum in Japalura sensu lato and other domestic insectivorous lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilurus, Phrynocephalus vlangalii, and Takydromus septentrionalis); (4) Comparing with the bacterial community of Shinisaurus crocodilurus, Phrynocephalus vlangalii, Takydromus septentrionalis, Liolaemus parvus, L. ruibali, and Phymaturus williamsi, Desulfobacterota was uniquely present in the gut of Japalura sensu lato. 16 S rRNA sequencing of oral samples showed that Chloroflexi and Deinococcota phyla were enriched in the oral cavity, which may have a significant influence on living in extreme environments.

Conclusions: Thus, based on 16 S rRNA sequencing analysis of the community composition of the gut and oral microbiomes, this study firstly represents a foundation for understanding the gut and oral microbial ecology of Japalura sensu lato, and constitutes a detail account of the diversity of the microbiota inhabiting the gut and oral cavity of Japalura sensu lato. Further researches will continue to reveal how gut and oral microbial communities may be impacting the ecology and evolution of lizards.

Keywords: 16S rRNA sequencing analysis; Diversity; Ecology; Japalura sensu lato; Microbiota.

Fig. 1

A Rarefaction curves of 10 fecal samples (F1–F10), 10 oral samples (S1–S10), three soil samples (soil1–soil3), and three plant samples (plant1–plant3). To evaluate sampling depth, rarefaction curves of microbial communities based on 16 S rRNA gene sequences are shown. B Venn diagram of OTUs in feces group, oral cavity group, and environment group

Fig. 2

Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and clustering analysis, representing dissimilarity in bacterial structure among fecal, oral, and environment (soil and plant) samples. Distances between samples based on OTU composition similarity (OTU similarity ≥ 97%) calculated using unweighted UniFrac distances were visualized by PCoA plots. Percentage of variation explained by PC1 and PC2 are noted on axes

Fig. 3

Relative abundance of bacterial communities at phylum (A), family (B) and genus levels (C) in fecal, oral, and environment (soil and plant) samples

Fig. 4

LEfSe (linear discriminant analysis effect size) analysis of microbiota composition of fecal, oral, and environment samples (LDA > 2). a Histogram of LDA scores for differentially abundant features in feces group, oral cavity group, and environment group. LEfSe scores were interpreted as degree of consistent difference in relative abundance of microbial communities in fecal, oral, and environment (soil and plant) samples. b Taxonomic representation of statistical and biological differences between feces group, oral cavity group and environment group. Differences are represented by colored circles. Color represents classification level and size is proportional to taxon abundance, representing phylum, class, order, and family