Publication Database

The microbiome of the intestinal parasitic nematode Ascaris suum is derived but distinct from its host (2022)

Art

Vortrag

Autor

Midha, A. (WE 6)

Kongress

Microbiome Network Meeting

Berlin, 20.07.2022

Quelle

Sprache

Englisch

Kontakt

Institut für Immunologie

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 51834
immunologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Intestinal roundworms affect more than 1 billion people globally and are a major issue in animal husbandry. Ascaris suum is a zoonotic roundworm and a major problem in conventional pig farming.
These pathogens live in intimate contact with the host gut microbiota and harbor bacteria within their own intestines. However, data on the parasite microbiome is effectively non-existent. In this study, we sought to characterize the microbiome of the parasite with respect to its environmental niche within the host. The intestinal microbiome of Ascaris suum was analyzed in contrast to the diversity and composition of the infected host gut. 16S sequencing of the parasite intestine and host intestinal compartments showed that the parasite gut has a significantly less diverse microbiome than its host and the host gut exhibits a reduced microbiome diversity at the site of parasite infection in the jejunum. While the hostʼs microbiome composition at the site of infection significantly determines the microbiome composition of its parasite, microbial signatures differentiate the nematodes from their hosts as the Ascaris intestine supports the growth of microbes that are otherwise under-represented in the host gut. Our data clearly indicate that a nematode infection reduces the microbiome diversity of the host gut and that the nematode gut represents a selective bacterial niche harboring bacteria that are derived but distinct from the host gut.