The gut microbiome is affected by host intrinsic factors, diet and environment, and strongly linked to host's health. Although fluctuations of microbiome composition are normal, some are due to changes in host environmental conditions. When species are moved into captive environments for conservation, education or rehabilitation, these new conditions can influence a change in gut microbiome composition. Here, we compared the microbiomes of wild and captive Comal Springs riffle beetles (Heterelmis comalensis) by using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. We found that the microbiome of captive beetles was more diverse than wild beetle microbiomes. We identified 24 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) with relative abundances significantly different between the wild and captive beetles. Many of the ASVs overrepresented in captive beetle microbiomes belong to taxa linked to nitrogen-rich environments. This is one of the first studies comparing the effects of captivity on the microbiome of an endangered insect species. Our findings provide valuable information for future applications in the management of captive populations of H. comalensis.

中文翻译：

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圈养对濒临灭绝的科马尔泉浅滩甲虫（Heterelmis comalensis）微生物群的影响

肠道微生物组受宿主内在因素、饮食和环境的影响，并与宿主的健康密切相关。虽然微生物组组成的波动是正常的，但有些是由于宿主环境条件的变化。当物种进入圈养环境进行保护、教育或康复时，这些新条件会影响肠道微生物组组成的变化。在这里，我们比较了野生和圈养 Comal Springs浅滩甲虫 ( Heterelmis comalensis) 的微生物组) 通过使用 16S rRNA 基因的扩增子测序。我们发现圈养甲虫的微生物组比野生甲虫的微生物组更加多样化。我们鉴定了 24 个扩增子序列变体 (ASV)，它们的相对丰度在野生甲虫和圈养甲虫之间存在显着差异。许多在圈养甲虫微生物组中过多的 ASV 属于与富氮环境相关的分类群。这是比较圈养对濒危昆虫物种微生物组影响的首批研究之一。我们的研究结果为未来在圈养H. comalensis种群管理中的应用提供了有价值的信息。