Publications by authors named "Francois-Etienne Sylvain"

Individuals must reproduce to survive and thrive from generation to generation. In fish, the fecundity of individuals and estimates of total reproductive output are critical for evaluating reproductive success and understanding population dynamics. Estimating fecundity is an onerous task; therefore, many populations lack contemporary estimates of fecundity and size-fecundity relationships.

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A number of key factors can structure the gut microbiota of fish such as environment, diet, health state, and genotype. , an Amazonian cichlid, is a relevant model organism to study the relative contribution of these factors on the community structure of fish gut microbiota. has well-studied genetic populations and thrives in rivers with drastically divergent physicochemical characteristics.

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Amazonian blackwaters are extremely biodiverse systems containing some of Earth's most naturally acidic, dissolved organic carbon -rich and ion-poor waters. Physiological adaptations of fish facing these ionoregulatory challenges are unresolved but could involve microbially-mediated processes. Here, we characterize the physiological response of 964 fish-microbe systems from four blackwater Teleost species along a natural hydrochemical gradient, using dual RNA-Seq and 16 S rRNA of gill samples.

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The Amazon River basin sustains dramatic hydrochemical gradients defined by three water types: white, clear, and black waters. In black water, important loads of allochthonous humic dissolved organic matter (DOM) result from the bacterioplankton degradation of plant lignin. However, the bacterial taxa involved in this process remain unknown, since Amazonian bacterioplankton has been poorly studied.

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Fish bacterial communities provide functions critical for their host's survival in contrasting environments. These communities are sensitive to environmental-specific factors (i.e.

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Associations between host genotype and host-associated microbiomes have been shown in a variety of animal clades, but studies on teleosts mostly show weak associations. Our study aimed to explore these relationships in four sympatric Serrasalmidae (i.e.

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Background: One of the most charismatic, and yet not completely resolved example of mutualistic interaction is the partnership of clownfish and its symbiotic sea anemone. The mechanism explaining this tolerance currently relies on the molecular mimicry of clownfish epithelial mucus, which could serve as camouflage, preventing the anemone's nematocysts' discharge. Resident bacteria are known as key drivers of epithelial mucus chemical signature in vertebrates.

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Teleost fish represent an invaluable repertoire of host species to study the factors shaping animal-associated microbiomes. Several studies have shown that the phylogenetic structure of the fish gut microbiome is driven by species-specific (e.g.

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The world's richest freshwater fish community thrives in gradients of contrasting environments in Amazonia, ranging from ion-poor acidic black waters, to ion-rich circumneutral white waters. These hydrochemical gradients structure Amazonian fish assemblages via ecological speciation events. Fish bacterial communities contain an important genetic heritage essential for their hosts' survival and are also involved in adaptive divergence via niche adaptation processes, but the extent to which they evolve in response to hydrochemical gradients in Amazonia is unknown.

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Fish gut microbial communities play key functions for their hosts, but their ontogenesis is poorly understood. Recent studies on the zebrafish suggest that gut symbionts are recruited naturally through horizontal transmission from environmental water. We used an alternative fish model, the discus (Symphysodon aequifasciata), to identify the main factors driving fish gut microbiota ontogenesis.

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Aquatic organisms are increasingly exposed to lowering of environmental pH due to anthropogenic pressure (e.g. acid rain, acid mine drainages).

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