Samuel Davison, Anna Mascellani Bergo, Zoe Ward, April Sackett, Anna Strykova, José Diógenes Jaimes, Dominic Travis, Jonathan B Clayton, Hayley W Murphy, Marietta D Danforth, B Katherine Smith, Ran Blekhman, Terence Fuh, Frédéric Stéphane Niatou Singa, Jaroslav Havlik, Klara Petrzelkova, Andres Gomez
{"title":"Cardiometabolic disease risk in gorillas is associated with altered gut microbial metabolism.","authors":"Samuel Davison, Anna Mascellani Bergo, Zoe Ward, April Sackett, Anna Strykova, José Diógenes Jaimes, Dominic Travis, Jonathan B Clayton, Hayley W Murphy, Marietta D Danforth, B Katherine Smith, Ran Blekhman, Terence Fuh, Frédéric Stéphane Niatou Singa, Jaroslav Havlik, Klara Petrzelkova, Andres Gomez","doi":"10.1038/s41522-025-00664-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cardiometabolic disease is the leading cause of death in zoo apes; yet its etiology remains unknown. Here, we investigated compositional and functional microbial markers in fecal samples from 57 gorillas across U.S. zoos, 20 of which are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, in contrast with 17 individuals from European zoos and 19 wild gorillas from Central Africa. Results show that zoo-housed gorillas in the U.S. exhibit the most diverse gut microbiomes and markers of increased protein and carbohydrate fermentation, at the expense of microbial metabolic traits associated with plant cell-wall degradation. Machine learning models identified unique microbial traits in U.S. gorillas with cardiometabolic distress; including reduced metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids and hexoses, increased abundance of potential enteric pathogens, and low fecal butyrate and propionate production. These findings show that cardiometabolic disease in gorillas is potentially associated with altered gut microbial function, influenced by zoo-specific diets and environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":19370,"journal":{"name":"npj Biofilms and Microbiomes","volume":"11 1","pages":"33"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11845621/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"npj Biofilms and Microbiomes","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-025-00664-3","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Cardiometabolic disease is the leading cause of death in zoo apes; yet its etiology remains unknown. Here, we investigated compositional and functional microbial markers in fecal samples from 57 gorillas across U.S. zoos, 20 of which are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, in contrast with 17 individuals from European zoos and 19 wild gorillas from Central Africa. Results show that zoo-housed gorillas in the U.S. exhibit the most diverse gut microbiomes and markers of increased protein and carbohydrate fermentation, at the expense of microbial metabolic traits associated with plant cell-wall degradation. Machine learning models identified unique microbial traits in U.S. gorillas with cardiometabolic distress; including reduced metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids and hexoses, increased abundance of potential enteric pathogens, and low fecal butyrate and propionate production. These findings show that cardiometabolic disease in gorillas is potentially associated with altered gut microbial function, influenced by zoo-specific diets and environments.
期刊介绍:
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes is a comprehensive platform that promotes research on biofilms and microbiomes across various scientific disciplines. The journal facilitates cross-disciplinary discussions to enhance our understanding of the biology, ecology, and communal functions of biofilms, populations, and communities. It also focuses on applications in the medical, environmental, and engineering domains. The scope of the journal encompasses all aspects of the field, ranging from cell-cell communication and single cell interactions to the microbiomes of humans, animals, plants, and natural and built environments. The journal also welcomes research on the virome, phageome, mycome, and fungome. It publishes both applied science and theoretical work. As an open access and interdisciplinary journal, its primary goal is to publish significant scientific advancements in microbial biofilms and microbiomes. The journal enables discussions that span multiple disciplines and contributes to our understanding of the social behavior of microbial biofilm populations and communities, and their impact on life, human health, and the environment.