Project description
Wild house mice may offer fresh perspective on gut microbiome
One of the most important symbiotic relationships that has attracted keen research over recent decades is that between mammals and their gastrointestinal tract microbes, collectively called the microbiome. Even within a given mammalian species, the gut microbiome undergoes rapid changes during development and continues to be highly variable throughout life, dependent on numerous factors. Although an increasing amount of evidence suggests an important role of the microbiota in immunity and nutrition, very few studies have been conducted in wild populations. The EU-funded MUSMICRO project is comparing long-term studies of wild house mice with controlled studies in the lab to determine whether natural variation in microbiota is truly correlated with health.
Objective
The mammalian gut teems with a particularly dense and diverse microbial community, the composition of which varies widely among hosts. A large body of laboratory work suggests these communities provide important functions for the host – including nutrition, pathogen protection and immune development – but we know very little about what shapes the mammalian gut microbiota, and how it affects the host, in natural populations.
A major barrier to progress is a lack of powerful investigative tools for most wild animal species. I will overcome this by studying a natural population of the species that has the best laboratory tools, and knowledge, for the mammalian microbiome: the house mouse. Specifically, I will set up a new wild house mouse system and use it to address three broad questions: 1) what drives natural variation in the gut microbiota? 2) does microbiota variation predict fitness traits in the wild? and, critically, 3) does microbiota variation causally affect fitness-relevant traits? To do this, I will pair detailed, longitudinal studies of wild mice with controlled experiments in the lab, making use of state-of-the-art tools for this species, including: (i) faecal transplant experiments with germ-free animals, to test the phenotypic impact of different wild mouse microbiotas (ii) high resolution genotyping methods and (iii) new radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology we have recently developed for monitoring wild rodent survival and behaviour.
By doing so, this project will directly tackle the key unanswered question: does the composition of the mammalian gut microbiota actually matter in nature?
Fields of science
Programme(s)
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Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom