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Early-life gut dysbiosis linked to mass mortality in ostriches

View ORCID ProfileElin Videvall, Se Jin Song, Hanna M. Bensch, Maria Strandh, Anel Engelbrecht, Naomi Serfontein, Olof Hellgren, Adriaan Olivier, Schalk Cloete, Rob Knight, Charlie K. Cornwallis
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/841742
Elin Videvall
1Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
2Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
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  • ORCID record for Elin Videvall
  • For correspondence: elin.videvall@gmail.com
Se Jin Song
3Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
4Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Hanna M. Bensch
1Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Maria Strandh
1Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Anel Engelbrecht
5Directorate Animal Sciences, Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Elsenburg, South Africa
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Naomi Serfontein
6Western Cape Agricultural Research Trust, Elsenburg, South Africa
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Olof Hellgren
1Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Adriaan Olivier
7South African Ostrich Business Chamber, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
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Schalk Cloete
5Directorate Animal Sciences, Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Elsenburg, South Africa
8Department of Animal Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa
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Rob Knight
3Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
4Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
9Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
10Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Charlie K. Cornwallis
1Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Abstract

Dysbiosis in the vertebrate gut microbiome has been associated with several diseases. However, it is unclear whether particular gut regions or specific time periods during ontogeny are responsible for the development of dysbiosis, especially in non-model organisms. Here we examine the microbiome associated with dysbiosis in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract (ileum, caecum, colon) in a long-lived bird with high juvenile mortality, the ostrich. Individuals that died of gut disease (n=68) had substantially different microbial composition from age-matched controls (n=50) throughout the gut. Several taxa were associated with mortality (Enterobacteriaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Clostridium) and some with survival (Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, Turicibacter). Repeated faecal sampling showed that pathobionts were already present shortly after hatching and proliferated in individuals with low diversity, resulting in mortality weeks later. The factors influencing seeding of the gut microbiota may therefore be key to understanding dysbiosis and host development.

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Posted November 14, 2019.
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Early-life gut dysbiosis linked to mass mortality in ostriches
Elin Videvall, Se Jin Song, Hanna M. Bensch, Maria Strandh, Anel Engelbrecht, Naomi Serfontein, Olof Hellgren, Adriaan Olivier, Schalk Cloete, Rob Knight, Charlie K. Cornwallis
bioRxiv 841742; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/841742
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Early-life gut dysbiosis linked to mass mortality in ostriches
Elin Videvall, Se Jin Song, Hanna M. Bensch, Maria Strandh, Anel Engelbrecht, Naomi Serfontein, Olof Hellgren, Adriaan Olivier, Schalk Cloete, Rob Knight, Charlie K. Cornwallis
bioRxiv 841742; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/841742

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