Gut Microbiota and Host Thermoregulation in Response to Ambient Temperature Fluctuations
Saeid Khakisahneh, Xueying Zhang, Zahra Nouri, Dehua Wang
Abstract
Whether gut microbiota play a role in regulating host phenotypic plasticity in small mammals living in seasonal environments has rarely been examined. The present study, through an intermittent temperature acclimation model, indicates that both gut microbiota and their host were more adaptive after repeated acclimations. It also demonstrates that dynamic gut microbiota confer host plasticity in thermoregulation in response to intermittent temperature fluctuations. Furthermore, low temperature seems to be a crucial cue in driving the symbiosis between mammals and their gut microbiota during evolution.
Topics & Concepts
Gut floraBiologyPhenotypic plasticityThermoregulationHost (biology)PlasticityAdaptation (eye)Basal metabolic rateEcologyEndocrinologyImmunologyNeurosciencePhysicsThermodynamicsGut microbiota and healthDiet and metabolism studiesStress Responses and Cortisol