Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39984469›Full record

ArticleNPJ biofilms and microbiomes2025

Cardiometabolic disease risk in gorillas is associated with altered gut microbial metabolism.

Samuel Davison, Anna Mascellani Bergo, Zoe Ward, April Sackett, Anna Strykova, José Diógenes Jaimes, Dominic Travis, Jonathan B Clayton, Hayley W Murphy, Marietta D Danforth and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ biofilms and microbiomes, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Samuel Davison *Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
Anna Mascellani Bergo *Department of Food Science, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
Zoe WardDepartment of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
April SackettDepartment of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
Anna StrykovaInstitute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
José Diógenes JaimesDepartment of Food Science, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
Dominic TravisThe Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, CA, USA.
Jonathan B ClaytonPrimate Microbiome Project, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3709-3362
Hayley W MurphyHWM and MDD: Great Ape Heart Project, Detroit Zoological Society, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Marietta D DanforthHWM and MDD: Great Ape Heart Project, Detroit Zoological Society, Royal Oak, MI, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9021-0719
B Katherine SmithUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
Ran BlekhmanPrimate Microbiome Project, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3218-613X
Terence FuhWWF Central African Republic, Bayanga, Central African Republic.
Frédéric Stéphane Niatou SingaWWF Central African Republic, Bayanga, Central African Republic.
Jaroslav HavlikDepartment of Food Science, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic. havlik@af.czu.cz.
Klara PetrzelkovaInstitute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic. petrzelkova@ivb.cz.
Andres GomezDepartment of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA. gomeza@umn.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1174-0368

Funding

Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports) LM2023064Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports) LTAUSA18209
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cardiometabolic disease is the leading cause of death in zoo apes; yet its etiology remains unknown. Here, we investigated compositional and functional microbial markers in fecal samples from 57 gorillas across U.S. zoos, 20 of which are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, in contrast with 17 individuals from European zoos and 19 wild gorillas from Central Africa. Results show that zoo-housed gorillas in the U.S. exhibit the most diverse gut microbiomes and markers of increased protein and carbohydrate fermentation, at the expense of microbial metabolic traits associated with plant cell-wall degradation. Machine learning models identified unique microbial traits in U.S. gorillas with cardiometabolic distress; including reduced metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids and hexoses, increased abundance of potential enteric pathogens, and low fecal butyrate and propionate production. These findings show that cardiometabolic disease in gorillas is potentially associated with altered gut microbial function, influenced by zoo-specific diets and environments.

Indexed as

Ape DiseasesBacteriaCardiovascular DiseasesGastrointestinal MicrobiomeGorilla gorillaAnimalsAnimals, ZooFecesFemaleMale

Identifiers

PMID39984469
PMCPMC11845621

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.