Abstract
Studies in multiple host species have shown that gut microbial diversity and composition change during pregnancy and lactation. However, the specific mechanisms underlying these shifts are not well understood. Here, we use longitudinal data from wild Phayre’s leaf monkeys to test the hypothesis that fluctuations in reproductive hormone concentrations contribute to gut microbial shifts during pregnancy. We described the microbial taxonomic composition of 91 fecal samples from 15 females (n = 16 cycling, n = 36 pregnant, n = 39 lactating) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and assessed whether the resulting data were better explained by overall reproductive stage or by fecal estrogen (fE) and progesterone (fP) concentrations. Our results indicate that while overall reproductive stage affected gut microbiome composition, the observed patterns were driven by reproductive hormones. Females had lower gut microbial diversity during pregnancy and fP concentrations were negatively correlated with diversity. Additionally, fP concentrations predicted both unweighted and weighted UniFrac distances, while reproductive state only predicted unweighted UniFrac distances. Seasonality (rainfall and periods of phytoprogestin consumption) additionally influenced gut microbial diversity and composition. Our results indicate that reproductive hormones, specifically progestagens, contribute to the shifts in the gut microbiome during pregnancy and lactation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 9961 |
| Journal | Scientific reports |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2020 |
Funding
For cooperation and permission to conduct research in Thailand, we thank the National Research Council of Thailand, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, and Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary (Kitti Kreetiyutanont, Mongkol Kumsuk, Kanjana Nitaya and Jarupol Prabnasuk). We also thank Naris Bhumpakphan, Wichan Eiadthong (Kasetsart University), Warren Brockelman (Mahidol University), and Tommaso Savini (King Mongut’s University of Technology, Thonburi) for collaboration and support in Thailand. For help with data collection, we thank our research assistants and sanctuary rangers. For laboratory space to analyze hormone samples, we thank Jacinta Beehner (University of Michigan) and Nancy Czekala (formerly at the Institute for Conservation Research at the San Diego Zoo). For microbiome sequencing, we thank Stefan Green and the staff of the University of Illinois Chicago Genome Research Core. Funding for this study was provided by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0542035 to AK and CB; BCS-0452635 to CB and AL), the Leakey Foundation (to AL), the American Society of Primatologists (to AL), and Northwestern University (to KRA). This research was supported in part through the computational resources and staff contributions provided by the Genomics Compute Cluster, part of the Quest high performance computing facility at Northwestern University, which is jointly supported by the Feinberg School of Medicine, the Center for Genetic Medicine, and Feinberg’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research, and Northwestern Information Technology.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General