Rocky Mountainsnail gut microbiome varies significantly across its
native geographic range
Abstract
Animal gut microbiome is often a key requirement for host nutrition,
digestion, and immunity. Gut microbiomes can shift in relation to host
geography and environmental factors. However, ecological drivers of
microbiome community assembly across large geographic ranges have rarely
been examined in invertebrates. Oreohelix strigosa (Rocky Mountainsnail)
is a widespread land snail ranging across the mountainous western United
States. O. strigosa is found in a variety of environments, including dry
Southwestern habitats and the near-alpine of the Rocky Mountains. It is
ideally suited for biogeography studies due to its broad distribution,
low migration, and low likelihood of passive transport via other
animals. This study aims to uncover large-scale geographic shifts in the
composition of O. strigosa gut microbiomes by utilizing samples from
across its native range. Additionally, we elucidate smaller-scale
microbiome variation using samples collected only across the Colorado
Front Range. Our results show that O. strigosa gut microbiome is
variable across the broad geographic range. Within Coloradan samples, we
investigated several possible ecological drivers of the geographic
variation, including soil and vegetation composition, habitat
complexity, habitat type, and human impact. We conclude that several
small-scale environmental factors may be driving the changes in O.
strigosa gut microbiome composition seen across large-scale geography.
Uncovering large-scale shifts in the gut microbiome compositions will
help form fundamental questions about the functional aspect of these
qualitative changes. This knowledge will also help us better understand
how microbial associations influence species survival in diverse
environments and aid wildlife conservation efforts.