Co-infections mask pathogen-specific associations with the gut microbiota in wild voles

Schmid, Dominik W.; Risely, Alice

doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13906

Co-infections mask pathogen-specific associations with the gut microbiota in wild voles

Schmid, Dominik W.; Risely, Alice

Authors

Dominik W. Schmid

Dr Alice Risely A.Risely@salford.ac.uk
Research Fellow in Biology and Wildlife

Abstract

Research Highlight: Brila, I., Lavirinienko, A., Tukalenko, E., Kallio, E. R., Mappes, T. & Watts, P. C. (2022). Idiosyncratic effects of coinfection on the association between systemic pathogens and the gut microbiota of a wild rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Journal of Animal Ecology, https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13869. Interactions between pathogens and host-associated microbial communities can influence host fitness, disease progression and pathogen emergence. The vast majority of studies characterize interactions between single pathogens and bacterial commensals, yet co-infections with multiple pathogens are the norm in nature. In their paper on pathogen–microbiome interactions, Brila et al. (2022) examine how co-infections with four systemic pathogens associate with the gut microbiota in wild bank voles. Building on a series of tests, the authors show that excluding co-infection information from statistical models masks pathogen-specific patterns and confounds interpretations. This paper advances on previous studies by generating surveillance data on a phylogenetically diverse suite of vole pathogens to address the question as to whether pathogens exhibit unique or universal associations with gut commensals. They report that even bacterial pathogens with similar transmission ecology have divergent associations with gut microbes, and highlight that a mechanistic understanding of host–pathogen interactions is necessary for decoding the diverse consequences for gut microbial communities.

Citation

Schmid, D. W., & Risely, A. (2023). Co-infections mask pathogen-specific associations with the gut microbiota in wild voles. Journal of Animal Ecology, 92(4), 790-793. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13906

Journal Article Type	Commentary
Acceptance Date	Feb 15, 2023
Publication Date	Apr 5, 2023
Deposit Date	Nov 2, 2023
Publicly Available Date	Apr 6, 2024
Journal	Journal of Animal Ecology
Print ISSN	0021-8790
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	92
Issue	4
Pages	790-793
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13906

Files

Accepted Version (307 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Schmid, D. W., & Risely, A. (2023). Co-infections mask pathogen-specific associations with the gut microbiota in wild voles. Journal of Animal Ecology, 92, 790–793], which has been published in final form at [https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13906]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.