DOI: 10.5061/dryad.h9g697r
title: Data from: Rapid environmental effects on gut nematode susceptibility in rewilded mice

description: Genetic and environmental factors shape host susceptibility to infection,
 but how and how rapidly environmental variation might alter the
 susceptibility of mammalian genotypes remains unknown. Here, we
 investigate the impacts of seminatural environments upon the nematode
 susceptibility profiles of inbred C57BL/6 mice. We hypothesized that
 natural exposure to microbes might directly (e.g., via trophic
 interactions) or indirectly (e.g., via microbe-induced immune responses)
 alter the hatching, growth, and survival of nematodes in mice housed
 outdoors. We found that while C57BL/6 mice are resistant to high doses of
 nematode (Trichuris muris) eggs under clean laboratory conditions,
 exposure to outdoor environments significantly increased their
 susceptibility to infection, as evidenced by increased worm burdens and
 worm biomass. Indeed, mice kept outdoors harbored as many worms as signal
 transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) knockout mice, which
 are genetically deficient in the type 2 immune response essential for
 clearing nematodes. Using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing of fecal samples,
 we discovered enhanced microbial diversity and specific bacterial taxa
 predictive of nematode burden in outdoor mice. We also observed decreased
 type 2 and increased type 1 immune responses in lamina propria and
 mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells from infected mice residing outdoors.
 Importantly, in our experimental design, different groups of mice received
 nematode eggs either before or after moving outdoors. This contrasting
 timing of rewilding revealed that enhanced hatching of worms was not
 sufficient to explain the increased worm burdens; instead, microbial
 enhancement and type 1 immune facilitation of worm growth and survival, as
 hypothesized, were also necessary to explain our results. These findings
 demonstrate that environment can rapidly and significantly shape gut
 microbial communities and mucosal responses to nematode infections,
 leading to variation in parasite expulsion rates among genetically similar
 hosts.
description: Leung et al. worm,
 immune, and weight data for main experimentMetadata file describing
 the individual mice used in the main experiment are presented. Mice are
 distinguished by their ID number. Data on location, infection status,
 endpoint worm information, immune responses, and weight are presented.
 Worm length/biomass and immune data have been log-transformed to meet
 assumptions of analysis.Leung_metadata_Main.xlsxLeung et al. worm and immune data for STAT6 experimentMetadata file describing the individual mice used in the STAT6-/- experiment are presented. Mice are distinguished by their ID number. Data on location, infection status, endpoint worm information, and immune responses are presented. Worm length/biomass and immune data have been log-transformed to meet assumptions of analysis.Leung_metadata_STAT6.xlsxLeung et al. nutrition data for main experimentData on the nutrition (total protein, albumin, and leptin) of individual mice in the main experiment are presented. Nutritional data have been log-transformed to meet assumptions of analysis.Leung_nutrition_Main.xlsxLeung et al. fungi data for main experimentThe sequence counts (from OBITools) within each sample are presented. The samples chosen for sequencing only included those that had a positive band with the primers ITS5 and ITS5.8 by PCR. Each sample is noted by their ID followed by the time point at which the sample was taken (i.e., ID_Week 0, ID_Week 3, or ID_Week 4). The highest classified rank from the sequence is under the column, Classified_Rank. Data on the Order, Family, Genus, Species, and overall scientific name of the sequences are presented, in addition to the taxid of the sequence and the sequence itself.Leung_fungi_Main.csv