title: Do Vertebrate Gut Metagenomes Confer Rapid Ecological Adaptation?
abstract: During times of rapid environmental change, survival of most vertebrate populations depends on their phenomic plasticity. Although differential gene-expression and post-transcriptional processes of the host genome receive focus as the main molecular mechanisms, growing evidence points to the gut microbiota as a key driver defining hosts' phenotypes. We propose that the plasticity of the gut microbiota might be an essential factor determining phenomic plasticity of vertebrates, and that it might play a pivotal role when vertebrates acclimate and adapt to fast environmental variation. We contemplate some key questions and suggest methodological approaches and experimental designs that can be used to evaluate whether gut microorganisms provide a boost of plasticity to vertebrates' phenomes, thereby increasing their acclimation and adaptation capacity.
authors.affiliation: EvoGenomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: antton.alberdi@snm.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Antton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alberdi
authors.affiliation: EvoGenomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ostaizka
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aizpurua
authors.affiliation: EvoGenomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark; School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk NR4 7UG, UK.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bohmann
authors.affiliation: EvoGenomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Marie Lisandra
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Zepeda-Mendoza
authors.affiliation: EvoGenomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark; Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia; NTNU University Museum, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: tgilbert@snm.ku.dk.
authors.forename: M Thomas P
authors.initials: MTP
authors.lastname: Gilbert
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D004463:Ecology; D054892:Metagenome; D014714:Vertebrates