Description
The present work aimed to study whether a high sugar diet can alter immune responses and the gut microbiome in green iguanas. Thirty-six iguanas were split into four treatment groups using a 2×2 design. Iguanas received either a sugar-supplemented diet or a control diet, and either a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection or a phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) injection. Iguanas were given their respective diet treatment through the entire study (∼3 months) and received a primary immune challenge 1 and 2 months into the experiment. Blood samples and cloacal swabs were taken at various points in the experiment and used to measure changes in the immune system (bacterial killing ability, lysis and agglutination scores, LPS-specific IgY concentrations), and alterations in the gut microbiome. We found that a sugar diet reduces bacterial killing ability following an LPS challenge, and sugar and the immune challenge temporarily alters gut microbiome composition while reducing alpha diversity. Although sugar did not directly reduce lysis and agglutination following the immune challenge, the change in these scores over a 24-h period following an immune challenge was more drastic (it decreased) relative to the control diet group. Moreover, sugar increased constitutive agglutination outside of the immune challenges (i.e. pre-challenge levels). In this study, we provide evidence that a high sugar diet affects the immune system of green iguanas (in a disruptive manner) and alters the gut microbiome.
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4728-3306
Document Type
Dataset
DCMI Type
Dataset
File Format
.txt, .xlsx
Publication Date
9-6-2024
Funder
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Publisher
Utah State University
Award Number
IOS-1752908 to S.S.F.; IOS-1752765 to D.D.
Methodology
Blood samples and cloacal swabs were collected at multiple timepoints throughout the study. Blood samples were then used to perform various biochemical assays to measure physiological biomarkers. DNA was extracted from the cloacal swabs and sent to be sequenced at the Shedd Aquarium. Data for the physiological indicators are in this file. The sequencing information has been published to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1129137. Data analysis code can be found at https://github.com/KiClaudia/greeniguana.
Scientfic Names
Iguana iguana
Referenced by
Kwanho C. Ki, Erin L. Lewis, Elizabeth Wu, Francis J. Oliaro, Lise M. Aubry, Charles R. Knapp, Karen M. Kapheim, Dale DeNardo, Susannah S. French; High sugar diet alters immune function and the gut microbiome in juvenile green iguanas (Iguana iguana). J Exp Biol 1 July 2024; 227 (13): jeb246981. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246981
Language
eng
Code Lists
See README.txt
Disciplines
Biology
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ki, Kwanho Claudia, "High Sugar Diet Alters Immune Function and the Gut Microbiome in Juvenile Green Iguanas (Iguana Iguana)" (2024). Browse all Datasets. Paper 236.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/all_datasets/236