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Dryad

The reproductive microbiome and maternal transmission via eggs in Sceloporus virgatus

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Feb 05, 2024 version files 2.93 MB

Abstract

Maternal transmission of microbes occurs across the animal kingdom and is vital for the  development and long-term health of offspring. The mechanisms of this transfer are most well studied in humans and other mammals, but are less well understood in egg-laying animals, especially in those with no parental care. Here we investigate the transfer of maternal microbes in Sceloporus virgatus, an oviparous spiny lizard. We compared three maternal tissue microbiomes – oviduct, cloaca, and intestine – to three offspring sample types: egg contents and eggshells on the day of oviposition, and hatchling intestinal tissue on the day of hatching. We found that dam ID is an important factor in hatchling microbiome composition, indicating that maternal transmission is occurring. The maternal cloacal and oviductal communities contribute to offspring microbiomes in all three sample types, but there was minimal influence of maternal intestinal microbes. This indicates that the maternal reproductive microbiome is more important for microbial inheritance than the gut microbiome, and that the tissue-level variation of the adult S. virgatus microbiome must develop as the hatchling matures. Despite differences between adult and hatchling communities, the offspring microbiome was still dominated by Enterobacteriaceae and Yersiniaceae, consistent with past studies of adult S. virgatus microbiomes.