The gut microbiome and its potential role in paradoxical anaerobism in pupfishes of the Mojave Desert.

Background: Pupfishes frequently enter paradoxical anaerobism in response to endogenously produced or exogenously supplied ethanol in a dose-dependent manner. To decipher the role of the gut microbiota in ethanol-associated paradoxical anaerobism, gut microbial communities were depleted using a cocktail of antibiotics and profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Results: Compared to the control group (n = 12), microbiota-depleted fish (n = 12) spent more time in paradoxical anaerobism.