Investigate Gut Microbiome, Diet, Parasites and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Macaques

Macaques experience a range of habitats that have profound impacts on their social interactions, dispersal patterns, foraging behaviors, diet, and exposure to parasites, all of which can influence the diversity, community structure, and interactions among different groups of microbes living in the gut. Recent findings from our lab show that the macaque diet to be centrally important in determining gut microbial communities; however, exposure to parasites can supersede these diet effects and is strongly associated with a greater abundance of pathogenic bacteria. A student joining the research group would test the generalisability of earlier lab results of long-tailed macaques (from Bali, Indonesia and Singapore) by helping to characterise the microbial communities, diet, and parasites of a new group of macaques (toque macaques, Sri Lanka), and perhaps even explore the potential for antibiotic resistance gene transmission due to increased urbanization.