Primates acquire gut microbiota from conspecifics through direct social contact and shared environmental exposures. Host behaviour is a prominent force in structuring gut microbial communities, yet the extent to which group or individual-level forces shape the long-term dynamics of gut microbiota is poorly understood. We investigated the effects of three aspects of host sociality (social groupings, dyadic interactions, and individual dispersal between groups) on gut microbiome composition and plasticity in 58 wild Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) from six social groups. Over the course of three dry seasons in a 5-year period, the six social groups maintained distinct gut microbial signatures, with the taxonomic composition of individual communities changing in tandem among coresiding group members. Samples collected from group members during each season were more similar than samples collected from single individuals across different years. In addition, new immigrants and individuals with less stable social ties exhibited elevated rates of microbiome turnover across seasons. Our results suggest that permanent social groupings shape the changing composition of commensal and mutualistic gut microbial communities and thus may be important drivers of health and resilience in wild primate populations.

中文翻译：

---

社会群体限制野生西法卡肠道微生物组的时空动态

灵长类动物通过直接社会接触和共享环境暴露从同种动物那里获得肠道微生物群。宿主行为是构建肠道微生物群落的重要力量，但人们对群体或个体层面的力量在多大程度上塑造肠道微生物群的长期动态知之甚少。我们研究了宿主社会性的三个方面（社会群体、二元相互作用和群体间个体分散）对 58 只野生 Verreaux's sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi ) 肠道微生物组组成和可塑性的影响) 来自六个社会群体。在 5 年的三个旱季中，六个社会群体保持着不同的肠道微生物特征，各个群落的分类组成在核心群体成员之间同步变化。每个季节从群体成员那里收集的样本比从不同年份的单个个体收集的样本更相似。此外，新移民和社会关系不太稳定的人在不同季节表现出较高的微生物组周转率。我们的研究结果表明，永久性社会群体塑造了共生和共生肠道微生物群落不断变化的组成，因此可能是野生灵长类动物种群健康和恢复力的重要驱动因素。