Abstract: Trevelline
Investigating how the gut microbiome affects early-life brain development and behavior of wild birds
Dr. Brian Trevelline (Biological Sciences, Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ State University)
The field of microbiology is currently undergoing a major renaissance with a renewed appreciation that vertebrates have evolved physiological dependencies on microorganisms during development. For example, we now recognize that the vertebrate intestinal tract harbors a diversity of microorganisms (collectively known as the gut microbiome), which can synthesize neurotransmitters and other small molecules that stimulate intestinal nerves or cross the blood-brain barrier to affect aspects of host neurologicaldevelopment and behavior. While these previous studies suggest that the gut microbiome has far-reaching effects on host physiology across the vertebrate tree of life, the majority of this work has focused on just a few laboratory model organisms, leaving a large knowledge gap regardinghow the gut microbiome has shaped wild vertebrate ecology and evolution through effects on developmental processes. Advancement in this area has been further slowed by a lack of wild animal models reared under germ-free conditions in which microbiome composition can be precisely controlled. To fill this knowledge gap, we will investigate how the microbiome influences early-life brain development and behavior ofwild House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)using a novel germ-free approach to raising egg-laying vertebrates developed by the Trevelline Lab. We will compare gene expression of several important brain regions, tissue markers of brain development, and behavioral data from house sparrow nestlings raised either germ-free or experimentally colonized with sparrow fecal microbiota. This work will yield unparalleled insights into how the gut microbiome affects vertebrate brain development and function in a non-model wild vertebrate, helping to improve our understanding of how the gut microbiome has shaped vertebrate ecology and evolution.