New study is able to separate resident and transient microbes in the gut microbiome of small fish
Researchers from the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics have successfully managed to separate resident and transient microorganisms in the gut microbiome of small fish, marking an important step towards better use of host-microbiome interactions especially in aquaculture.
The microbial gut communities of fish are receiving increased attention for their relevance on health and sustainability amongst others in a growing aquaculture industry. However, studying the composition of the gut microbiota of small fish is impeded by the small size and fragility of the gastrointestinal tract. Their findings have just been published in PeerJ Microbiology.
“In this new study we show that even though we are using a relatively simple sample technique, we are able to capture two distinct microbial communities in the intestine of small species of fish. Usually this is only done for larger species of fish where it is easier to collect two clearly separated samples,” says PhD student and first author Lasse Nyholm Jessen.
Resident vs transient microorganisms
The members of fish gut communities are often split into resident microorganisms (long-term colonisers specialised to grow in and adhere to the gut) and transient microorganisms (short-term colonisers originated from food items and the surrounding water). Separating these two communities in small fish are impeded by the small size and fragility of the gastrointestinal tract. This is however what five researchers from Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics have set out to do in this new study by Nyholm et al.
“The findings of this study have implications for future studies on the gut microbiome of small species of fish such as zebrafish (a commonly used model organism), or juvenile stages of larger fish, as we demonstrate that it is possible to make a coarse separation of the resident and transient microbes found in their gastrointestinal tract. If we want to study co-evolution between microbes and their host, host-microbiota interactions or develop novel host-specific probiotics, the separation of these two communities is highly relevant,” PhD student and first author Lasse Nyholm Jessen ends.
Read the full article in PeerJ Microbiology here and watch the video abstract below.
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PhD student Lasse Nyholm Jessen.