The link between the gut microbiota and social behavior has been demonstrated, however the translational impact of a certain microbiota composition on stable behavioral patterns is yet to be elucidated. Here we employed an established social behavior mouse model of dominance (Dom) or submissiveness (Sub). A comprehensive 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of Dom and Sub mice revealed a significantly different gut microbiota composition that clearly distinguishes between the two behavioral modes. Sub mice gut microbiota is significantly less diverse than that of Dom mice, and their taxa composition uniquely comprised the genera Mycoplasma and Anaeroplasma of the Tenericutes phylum, in addition to the Rikenellaceae and Clostridiaceae families. Conversely, the gut microbiota of Dom mice includes the genus Prevotella of the Bacteriodetes phylum, significantly less abundant in Sub mice. In addition, Sub mice show lower body weight from the age of 2 weeks and throughout their life span, accompanied with lower epididymis white adipose tissue (eWAT) mass and smaller adipocytes together with substantially elevated expression of inflammation and metabolic-related eWAT adipokines. Finally, fecal microbiota transplantation into germ-free mice show that Sub-transplanted mice acquired Sub microbiota and adopted their behavioral and physiological features, including depressive-like and anti-social behaviors alongside reduced eWAT mass, smaller adipocytes, and a Sub-like eWAT adipokine profile. Our findings demonstrate the critical role of the gut microbiome in determining dominance vs. submissiveness and suggest an association between gut microbiota, the eWAT metabolic and inflammatory profile, and the social behavior mode.

肠道微生物群与社会行为之间的联系已被证明，但某些微生物群组成对稳定行为模式的转化影响仍有待阐明。在这里，我们采用了已建立的社会行为小鼠支配性（Dom）或顺从性（Sub）模型。对 Dom 和 Sub 小鼠的全面 16S rRNA 基因序列分析揭示了显着不同的肠道微生物群组成，清楚地区分了两种行为模式。Sub 小鼠肠道微生物群的多样性明显低于 Dom 小鼠，其分类群组成独特地包括特内里古特门的支原体属和厌氧原体属，以及 Rikenellaceae 和 Clostridiaceae 科。相反，Dom 小鼠的肠道微生物群包括拟杆菌门的普氏菌属，而 Sub 小鼠的肠道菌群数量明显较少。此外，Sub 小鼠从 2 周龄起直至其整个生命周期都表现出较低的体重，伴随着较低的附睾白色脂肪组织 (eWAT) 质量和较小的脂肪细胞，以及炎症和代谢相关 eWAT 脂肪因子的表达显着升高。最后，将粪便微生物群移植到无菌小鼠体内表明，亚移植小鼠获得了亚微生物群，并采用了其行为和生理特征，包括抑郁样和反社会行为以及 eWAT 质量减少、脂肪细胞较小和亚型 eWAT脂肪因子概况。我们的研究结果证明了肠道微生物群在决定主导与顺从方面的关键作用，并表明肠道微生物群、eWAT 代谢和炎症特征以及社会行为模式之间存在关联。