title: Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Free-Ranging Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla).
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1/3, Brno, 61242, Czech Republic. klari.vlckova@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vlčková
authors.affiliation: J. Craig Venter Institute, 4120 Capricorn Lane, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.|Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, Brno, 60365, Czech Republic.|Liberec Zoo, Masarykova 1347/31, Liberec, 46001, Czech Republic.|Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Petrželková
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA, 01536, USA.|Department of Wildlife Health Sciences, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, 3001 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC, 20008, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Whittier
authors.affiliation: WWF, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, BP 1053, Bangui, Central African Republic.
authors.forename: Angelique F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Montana State University, P.O. Box 172900, Bozeman, MT, 59717-2900, USA.
authors.forename: Carl J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yeoman
authors.affiliation: J. Craig Venter Institute, 9704 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA.|J. Craig Venter Institute, 4120 Capricorn Lane, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.|Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 601 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Brenda A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.|Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 607 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Stumpf
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1/3, Brno, 61242, Czech Republic.|Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice, 37005, Czech Republic.|CEITEC VFU, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1/3, Brno, 61242, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Modrý
authors.affiliation: Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.|Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1350 Pleasant Street, Boulder, CO, 80309-0233, USA.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Leigh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018420:Ape Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D041963:Bacteroidetes / Q000254:growth & development; D002488:Central African Republic; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D000068536:Bacillota / Q000254:growth & development; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects*; D006071:Gorilla gorilla / Q000382:microbiology*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D045857:Ruminococcus / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Antibiotics; Bacteria; Gastrointestinal microbiome; Gorilla; Illumina MiSeq; Medical treatment