DOI: 10.5061/dryad.45ct519
title: Data from: Faecal inoculations alter the gastrointestinal microbiome and allow dietary expansion in a wild specialist herbivore, the koala

description: Background: Differences between individuals in their gastrointestinal
 microbiomes can lead to variation in their ability to persist on
 particular diets. Koalas are dietary specialists, feeding almost
 exclusively on Eucalyptus foliage but many individuals will not feed on
 particular Eucalyptus species that are adequate food for other
 individuals, even when facing starvation. We undertook a faecal
 inoculation experiment to test whether a koala’s gastrointestinal (GI)
 microbiome influences their diet. Wild-caught koalas that initially fed on
 the preferred manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) were brought into captivity
 and orally inoculated with encapsulated material derived from faeces from
 koalas feeding on either the less preferred messmate (E. obliqua;
 treatment) or manna gum (control). Results: The gastrointestinal
 microbiomes of wild koalas feeding primarily on manna gum were distinct
 from those feeding primarily on messmate. We found that the
 gastrointestinal microbiomes of koalas were unresponsive to dietary
 changes because the control koalas’ GI microbiomes did not change even
 when the nocturnal koalas were fed exclusively on messmate overnight. We
 showed that faecal inoculations can assist the GI microbiomes of koalas to
 change as the treatment koalas’ GI microbiomes became more similar to
 those of wild koalas feeding on messmate. There was no overall difference
 between the control and treatment koalas in the quantity of messmate they
 consumed. However, the greater the change in the koalas’ GI microbiomes,
 the more messmate they consumed after the inoculations had established.
 Conclusions: The results suggest that dietary changes can only lead to
 changes in the GI microbiomes of koalas if the appropriate microbial
 species are present, and/or that the koala gastrointestinal microbiome
 influences diet selection.
description: Initial MM
 intakeNight-time dry matter
 intake (g) of Messamte (E. obliqua) foliage by 12 captive koalas over
 three nights following its introduction to their diets. Previously the
 koalas were fed only Manna Gum (E. viminalis) foliage.Koala Intakes during and
 post inoculationNight-time dry matter
 intake of Messmate (E. obliqua) foliage by 12 captive koalas during and
 for 18 days after their administration with faecal inoculum. Six koalas
 belonged to the treatment group that received inoculum from koalas feeding
 on messmate foliage. Six control koalas were inoculated with their own
 faecal material and that from other control koalas.Features table rarefied
 10000Table of microbial
 features detected in koala faecal samples as identified by 16s rRNA gene
 sequencing (V5 – V8 region; amplified using 803F and 1392R primers). Reads
 were processed and assigned taxonomic designations by QIIME 2 (v. 2017.10)
 using the SILVA 128 database. The table was rarefied to 10 000 reads per
 sample using the vegan package in R (version 3.5.0).OTU table rarefied
 10000.csvTaxonomic designation of
 featuresTaxonomic designation of
 features listed in the features table. Designations were made in QIIME 2
 (v. 2017.10) using the SILVA 128 database.