# Climate influences the gut eukaryome of wild rodents in the Great Rift Valley of Jordan

## TL;DR

This study shows how climate affects the gut eukaryome of wild rodents in Jordan's Great Rift Valley, revealing differences in eukaryotic species across bioclimatic zones.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how climate influences the gut eukaryome in wild rodents, highlighting host and environmental factors.

## Key findings

- Eukaryotic diversity in rodent guts varied significantly between bioclimatic zones (p = 0.001).
- Nematodes and protozoa dominated the eukaryome, with 60% of ASVs linked to known pathogens.
- Specific parasites like Nippostrongylus brasiliensis were found only in the Sudanian zone.

## Abstract

The mammalian gut microbiome includes a community of eukaryotes with significant taxonomic and functional diversity termed the eukaryome. The molecular analysis of eukaryotic diversity in microbiomes of wild mammals is still in its early stages due to the recent emergence of interest in this field. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by collecting data on eukaryotic species found in the intestines of wild rodents. Because little is known about the influence of climate on the gut eukaryome, we compared the composition of the gut eukaryotes in two rodent species, Mus musculus domesticus and Acomys cahirinus, which inhabit a transect crossing a temperate and tropical zone on the Jordanian side of the Great Rift Valley (GRV).

We used high-throughput amplicon sequencing targeting the 18S rRNA gene in fecal samples from rodents to identify eukaryotic organisms, their relative abundance, and their potential for pathogenicity.

Nematodes and protozoa were the most prevalent species in the eukaryome communities, whereas fungi made up 6.5% of the total. Sixty percent of the eukaryotic ASVs belonged to taxa that included known pathogens. Eighty percent of the rodents were infected with pinworms, specifically Syphacia obvelata. Eukaryotic species diversity differed significantly between bioclimatic zones (p = 0.001). Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Aspiculuris tetraptera were found to be present exclusively in the Sudanian zone rodents. This area has not reported any cases of Trichuris infections. Yet, Capillaria infestations were unique to the Mediterranean region, while Trichuris vulpis infestations were also prevalent in the Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian regions.

This study highlights the importance of considering host species diversity and environmental factors when studying eukaryome composition in wild mammals. These data will be valuable as a reference to eukaryome study.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-024-06451-x.