Dads matter : Paternal transfer of microbiota through male pregnancy in the sex role-reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle
Throughout evolution, the interplay between hosts and their microbiota has shaped complex relationships, where microbial communities influence key factors affecting host fitness. During embryonic development, primary colonizers facilitate successive microbial succession, ultimately establishing the microbiome. These microbes are acquired through vertical transmission (e.g., eggs, pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding) or horizontal transmission from the environment. Vertical transmission reflects a long history of host-microbe co-evolution, but its assessment is challenging due to the entanglement of multiple acquisition routes, particularly in female/mammalian pregnancy systems. In syngnathid fishes, where males are the pregnant sex, this unique reproductive strategy allows for the disentanglement of microbial contributions from egg provisioning (sex) and pregnancy (sex role). This dissertation presents a series of studies that experimentally manipulated the microbiota of the broad-nosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) to assess its impact on early microbial colonization and offspring development. Evidence was found that microbial depletion and recolonization influence pregnancy duration, survival, and microbial composition. Additionally, horizontal microbial transmission during late pregnancy was examined using fluorescently tagged bacteria, revealing distinct temporal dynamics in early microbial colonization. By establishing S. typhle as a model to study host-microbe interactions, this work advances the understanding of microbial transmission, co-evolution and establishment across generations.
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