Disentangling the Relative Roles of Vertical Transmission, Subsequent Colonizations, and Diet on Cockroach Microbiome Assembly

• DOI: 10.1128/msphere.01023-20
• Publication Date: 2021-01-05T14:26:52Z
• Authors: Justinn Renelies-...; Kristjan Germer; David Sillam-Dussès; Kasun H. Bodawatta; Michael Poulsen
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Bacteria; Microbiota; microbial inocula; transmission; Cockroaches; 15. Life on land; Microbiology; symbiosis; QR1-502; Host Specificity; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Diet; microbiome stability; Anti-Infective Agents; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; host specificity; Animals; network analysis; Phylogeny; Research Article; Ovum

When host fitness is dependent on gut microbiota, microbial community flexibility and reproducibility enhance host fitness by allowing fine-tuned environmental tracking and sufficient stability for host traits to evolve. Our findings lend support to the importance of vertically transmitted early-life microbiota as stabilizers through interactions with potential colonizers that may contribute to ensuring that the microbiota aligns within host fitness-enhancing parameters.