Data from: Gut microbiome composition and metabolomic profiles of wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) reflect host ecology

The metabolic activities of gut microbes significantly influence host physiology; thus, characterizing the forces that modulate this micro-ecosystem is key to understanding mammalian biology and fitness. To investigate the gut microbiome of wild primates and determine how these microbial communities respond to the host's external environment, we characterized faecal bacterial communities and, for the first time, gut metabolomes of four wild lowland gorilla groups in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. Results show that geographical range may be an important modulator of the gut microbiomes and metabolomes of these gorilla groups. Distinctions seemed to relate to feeding behaviour, implying energy harvest through increased fruit consumption or fermentation of highly fibrous foods. These observations were supported by differential abundance of metabolites and bacterial taxa associated with the metabolism of cellulose, phenolics, organic acids, simple sugars, lipids and sterols between gorillas occupying different geographical ranges. Additionally, the gut microbiomes of a gorilla group under increased anthropogenic pressure could always be distinguished from that of all other groups. By characterizing the interplay between environment, behaviour, diet and symbiotic gut microbes, we present an alternative perspective on primate ecology and on the forces that shape the gut microbiomes of wild primates from an evolutionary context.READMEContains description of every file submitted for this data entry.Otu_Tableontains 16SrRNA raw abundances for each gorilla group clustered at 97% sequence similarityOtu_taxonomyContains taxonomic information and 16S rRNA sequence similarity % for every Otu in Otu_table.Genus_TableContains 16SrRNA raw abundances for each gorilla group at genus levelGenus_taxonomyContains taxonomic information and 16S rRNA sequence similarity % for every genus in Genus_table.Phyla_TableContains 16SrRNA raw abundances for each gorilla group at phyla levelPhyla_taxonomyContains taxonomic information and 16S rRNA sequence similarity % for every phylum in Phyla_table.SCFAMetabolomics_dataContains metabolite concentrations (GC-MS spectra expressed as analyte concentration relative to hentriacontanoic acid per gram Dry Weight (relative concentration), i.e., as target compound peak area divided by the internal standard (IS) peak area (IS concentration is the same in all samples)FeedingContains the number of observation days feeding on different food types consumed by all members of H1 and H2 (habituated gorilla groups) during 61 observation days. THV=Terrestrial herbaceous vegetation, FR=Fruit, LV=Leaves, INS=Insects (termites), BK=Bark.My454Perl script used to process raw 16S rRNA amplicons (primer trimming and removal of low quality sequences according to specified criteria, see detailed description in file)my45