# Dietary modulation shapes gut microbiota and digestive physiology associated with specialized frugivory in Teratoscincus roborowskii

## TL;DR

This study shows how diet affects the gut microbiota and digestion in desert lizards, revealing how they adapt to specialized fruit-based diets.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates how dietary changes rapidly reshape gut microbiota and digestive physiology in desert lizards.

## Key findings

- Digestive enzyme activity in T. roborowskii reflects dietary composition, with trypsin, lipase, and α-amylase showing distinct patterns.
- Capers increased the abundance of Blautia, which are linked to folate biosynthesis and purine metabolism.
- Diet, gut microbiota, and metabolites are closely linked, showing how T. roborowskii adapts to dietary changes.

## Abstract

Diet plays a key role in determining the composition and function of the gut microbiota. Teratoscincus roborowskii inhabits extreme desert environments and displays a unique frugivorous behavior. To investigate the relationship between its gut microbiota and metabolites associated with this specialized diet, the gut microbiota and key metabolite variations in T. roborowskii fed varying proportions of Capparis spinosa (capers) were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomic profiling. Our results showed that trypsin activity was significantly higher in the mealworms group than in the capers groups. In contrast, the lipase activity was the highest in the capers-80% group, and the α-amylase activity was the highest in the capers-50% group. These patterns indicate that digestive enzyme activity reflects dietary composition. In addition, T. roborowskii fed either mealworm or caper-based diets shared the same dominant microbiota at the phylum level. However, the inclusion of capers significantly increased the abundance of Blautia in T. roborowskii, which are enriched in folate biosynthesis and purine metabolism pathways, supporting the idea that changes in diet can rapidly reshape the gut microbiota. Notably, diet, gut microbiota, digestive enzymes, and fecal metabolites are closely linked and interact with each other, indicating that T. roborowskii can adapt to dietary changes by modulating its gut microbiota and digestive physiology. Our study offers valuable insights into the gut microbiota of desert lizards and warrants further exploration of the relationship between desert lizards and desert plants.

A circular diagram illustrating the effects of feeding diversity on health outcomes. The left green section indicates increased disease risk with a single feeding habit, featuring "Salmonella" and "Trypsin." The top yellow section highlights health benefits from dietary diversity, showing "Blautia" and "ATP-AMP-Adenosine." The right section outlines "Purine Metabolism" and "α-amylase." The bottom blue section emphasizes overall health benefits from diverse feeding habits, depicting "Weissella" and "Lipase." In the center, an image of mealworms and a gecko under different feeding ratios: 1:0, 1:1, and 1:4.