THE IMPACT OF TRICHURIS MURIS INFECTION AND ENVIRONMENT ON THE DIVERSITY AND COMPOSITION OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA OF C57BL/6 MICE

Abstract

A single soil-transmitted helminth species, Trichuris trichiura, infects between 795 million and 1.05 billion individuals [1]. Public policymakers have recently begun to contemplate mass dewormings in regions where T. trichiura is endemic [1]. However, the interaction between helminths and the gut microbiota is not well understood. Given this potential policy shift, a critical need exists for a deeper understanding of the interaction between helminths and the gut microbiota and whether this interaction is environment-dependent. This study seeks to characterize the gut microbiota of mice and to analyze how the composition and α-diversity of mice’s gut microbiota change with Trichuris muris infection and relocation to a semi-natural environment. Specifically, this study analyzes V4 region 16S rRNA sequencing data isolated from 256 stool samples collected from 48 specific-pathogen free C57BL/6 mice at six time intervals. In this study, T. muris infection induced significant changes to the composition of the gut microbiota of C57BL/6 mice during two of the five observation time points. Additionally, relocation from the lab to a semi-natural habitat induced significant changes to the composition of the gut microbiota of C57BL/6 mice. The bacterial families with relative abundances that were significantly altered by T. muris infection were environment-dependent. The results of this study reinforce the need to conduct long-term gut microbiota mouse studies in semi-natural habitats. This will enable the scientific community to understand better how environment shapes the composition of the gut microbiota and whether the impact of helminth infection on the gut microbiota is environment-dependent.