Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations
The relationship between the gut microbiota and photoperiod has received widespread attention, and it is necessary to explore the probable common mechanisms involved. We tested whether the gut microbiota of animals with similar light-regulated life history traits would also exhibit consistent respon...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Chao Fan Huiliang Xue Jinhui Xu Ming Wu Lei Chen Laixiang Xu |
| author_facet | Chao Fan Huiliang Xue Jinhui Xu Ming Wu Lei Chen Laixiang Xu |
| author_sort | Chao Fan |
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| description | The relationship between the gut microbiota and photoperiod has received widespread attention, and it is necessary to explore the probable common mechanisms involved. We tested whether the gut microbiota of animals with similar light-regulated life history traits would also exhibit consistent responses to the photoperiod. Here, two species of long-day breeders, striped hamsters (<i>Cricetulus barabensis</i>) and Djungarian hamsters (<i>Phodopus sungorus</i>), were raised under different photoperiods (long daylight, LD; short daylight, SD), and their cecal contents were collected to assess the gut microbiota. There was no difference in the gut microbial diversity between the groups of striped hamsters; however, in the Djungarian hamsters, lower Chao and Shannon indices were observed in the LD group than in the SD group. The bacterial community variation in the striped hamsters was reflected mainly in the enrichment of the genera <i>Enterorhabdus</i> and <i>Jeotgalicoccus</i> in the LD group; meanwhile, more taxa with significant changes in relative abundance under different photoperiods were found in the Djungarian hamsters, such as the enrichment of the genera <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Faecalibaculum</i> in the LD group and the enrichment of the genera <i>Ruminococcus</i> and <i>Colidextribacter</i> in the SD group. The LD conditions substantially reduced the complexity of the gut microbial network in the Djungarian hamsters and increased the <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> value of the striped hamster gut microbiota under fitting with a neutral community model. Moreover, the potential gut microbial functions in the striped hamsters were relatively stable, but variations were observed in multiple pathways between the groups of Djungarian hamsters. These results contribute to the understanding of host species specificity in the response of the gut microbiota to external changes. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-4a32132b478642c1a66a3ab338d919de2025-08-20T03:46:38ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-06-011511164810.3390/ani15111648Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic VariationsChao Fan0Huiliang Xue1Jinhui Xu2Ming Wu3Lei Chen4Laixiang Xu5School of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, ChinaSchool of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, ChinaThe relationship between the gut microbiota and photoperiod has received widespread attention, and it is necessary to explore the probable common mechanisms involved. We tested whether the gut microbiota of animals with similar light-regulated life history traits would also exhibit consistent responses to the photoperiod. Here, two species of long-day breeders, striped hamsters (<i>Cricetulus barabensis</i>) and Djungarian hamsters (<i>Phodopus sungorus</i>), were raised under different photoperiods (long daylight, LD; short daylight, SD), and their cecal contents were collected to assess the gut microbiota. There was no difference in the gut microbial diversity between the groups of striped hamsters; however, in the Djungarian hamsters, lower Chao and Shannon indices were observed in the LD group than in the SD group. The bacterial community variation in the striped hamsters was reflected mainly in the enrichment of the genera <i>Enterorhabdus</i> and <i>Jeotgalicoccus</i> in the LD group; meanwhile, more taxa with significant changes in relative abundance under different photoperiods were found in the Djungarian hamsters, such as the enrichment of the genera <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Faecalibaculum</i> in the LD group and the enrichment of the genera <i>Ruminococcus</i> and <i>Colidextribacter</i> in the SD group. The LD conditions substantially reduced the complexity of the gut microbial network in the Djungarian hamsters and increased the <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> value of the striped hamster gut microbiota under fitting with a neutral community model. Moreover, the potential gut microbial functions in the striped hamsters were relatively stable, but variations were observed in multiple pathways between the groups of Djungarian hamsters. These results contribute to the understanding of host species specificity in the response of the gut microbiota to external changes.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1648gut microbiotarodentsphotoperiodsspecies specific16S rRNA gene |
| spellingShingle | Chao Fan Huiliang Xue Jinhui Xu Ming Wu Lei Chen Laixiang Xu Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations Animals gut microbiota rodents photoperiods species specific 16S rRNA gene |
| title | Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations |
| title_full | Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations |
| title_fullStr | Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations |
| title_short | Two Species of Long-Day Breeding Hamsters Exhibit Distinct Gut Microbial Responses to Photoperiodic Variations |
| title_sort | two species of long day breeding hamsters exhibit distinct gut microbial responses to photoperiodic variations |
| topic | gut microbiota rodents photoperiods species specific 16S rRNA gene |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1648 |
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