ArticleNature communications2021
Diurnal oscillations in gut bacterial load and composition eclipse seasonal and lifetime dynamics in wild meerkats.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Seasonal Dynamics of the Gut Microbiome and Functional Adaptations in Sika Deer (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Insomnia: the gut microbiome connection, prospects for probiotic and postbiotic therapies, and future directions.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Impact of animal socioecology on gut microbial communities: Insights from wild meerkats in the Kalahari.The Journal of animal ecology · 2025Article
- Variation in the gut microbiota of wild Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) likely reflects diet shifts between snow-free and snow seasons.BMC microbiology · 2025Article
- The Impact of Whole-Animal Fluid Preservation on the Observed Gut Microbiome of Vertebrates: Implications for the Use of Museum Specimens in Microbiome Research.Molecular ecology resources · 2025Article
- Article
- The impact of climate, weather, seasonal transitions, and diurnal rhythms on gut microbiota and immune homeostasis.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2025Review
- Article
- I "Gut" Rhythm: the microbiota as a modulator of the stress response and circadian rhythms.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- Seasonal Cycles in a Seaweed Holobiont: A Multiyear Time Series Reveals Repetitive Microbial Shifts and Core Taxa.Environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Effects of the sampling time on the vaginal microbiota in healthy pregnant women: a prospective observational study.AJOG global reports · 2025Article
- Population Dynamics and the Microbiome in a Wild Boreal Mammal: The Snowshoe Hare Cycle and Impacts of Diet, Season and Predation Risk.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Delayed feeding disrupts diurnal oscillations in the gut microbiome of a neotropical bat in captivity.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2025Article
- Interaction Between Early Meals (Big-Breakfast Diet), Clock Gene mRNA Expression, and Gut Microbiome to Regulate Weight Loss and Glucose Metabolism in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Differences in Gut Microbes Across Age and Sex Linked to Metabolism and Microbial Stability in a Hibernating Mammal.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Chronodisruption and Gut Microbiota: Triggering Glycemic Imbalance in People with Type 2 Diabetes.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Light-dark cycles may influence in situ soil bacterial networks and diurnally-sensitive taxa.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Diversity alone does not reliably indicate the healthiness of an animal microbiome.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- High diversity, close genetic relatedness, and favorable living conditions benefit species co-occurrence of gut microbiota in Brandt's vole.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- The contribution of circadian clock to the biological processes.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Circadian rhythms in gut microbiota composition are crucial for metabolic function, yet the extent to which they govern microbial dynamics compared to seasonal and lifetime processes remains unknown. Here, we investigate gut bacterial dynamics in wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta) over a 20-year period to compare diurnal, seasonal, and lifetime processes in concert, applying ratios of absolute abundance. We found that diurnal oscillations in bacterial load and composition eclipsed seasonal and lifetime dynamics. Diurnal oscillations were characterised by a peak in Clostridium abundance at dawn, were associated with temperature-constrained foraging schedules, and did not decay with age. Some genera exhibited seasonal fluctuations, whilst others developed with age, although we found little support for microbial senescence in very old meerkats. Strong microbial circadian rhythms in this species may reflect the extreme daily temperature fluctuations typical of arid-zone climates. Our findings demonstrate that accounting for circadian rhythms is essential for future gut microbiome research.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.