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Short-chain fatty acids mediate interactions between immune responses and commensal bacteria in high altitude yaks

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Abstract

The complex interplay between host and commensal gut microbiota affects the major biological functions such as metabolism and stress adaptation, and displays pronounced seasonality in mammals. However, the seasonal dynamic patterns of immune responses and microbiota, and their interactions remain uncertain in animals inhabiting extreme environments. We analyzed monthly hormones, immunoglobulins and fecal microbiota from yaks grazing on the Tibetan plateau. Clear seasonal patterns were observed: glucocorticoid levels peaked in the cold season, while concentrations of IgA, IgG, IgM, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) increased during the warm season. Yak fecal microbiota also fluctuated seasonally, with lowest diversity in the warm season but accompanied by an enrichment of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Taxa such as Alistipes, Bacteroides, Romboutsia and Arthrobacter contributed to seasonal shifts in the levels of SCFAs and immunoglobulins. These results indicate that yaks synchronize peak immune activation and energy production with the nutrient-rich warm season, suggesting a role for microbiome plasticity in driving immune flexibility for high-altitude animals.

Data availability

Raw data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files). 16S rRNA gene sequencing raw data are deposited in the dryad database at http://datadryad.org/stash/share/lwsE1wTCwixFVpOgtytCDENrx3hgvxJmOTKSkpzqslo.

Code availability

The R code used to generate the main results of this study is available publicly on Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17622103)75.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Expedition (2019QZKK0302), the Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20183; 32471581; 32102498), the Science-based Advisory Program of The Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO-SBA-2023-02), Natural Science Foundation Youth Program of Shandong Province (ZR2024QC346), the State Key Laboratory of Hulless Barley and Yak Germplasm Resources and Genetic Improvement (XZNKY-CZ-2022-016-10), and the Open Project of Qinghai Key Laboratory of Adaptive Management of Alpine Grasslands (2023-GHSYS-KF-02).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Na Guo, Nana Gou, Fuyu Shi.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

    Na Guo, Nana Gou, Fuyu Shi, Wenyin Wang, Shanshan Li, Sisi Bi, Jianxin Jiao, Binyu Luo, Mei Huang & Zhanhuan Shang

  2. School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao, China

    Na Guo & Fuyu Shi

  3. Desert Animal Adaptations and Husbandry, Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

    A. Allan Degen

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  1. Na Guo
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Contributions

N.G, N.N.G and F.Y.S collected field data and samples; N.G and F.Y.S analyzed the data; N.N.G and F.Y.S analyzed samples; W.Y.W, S.S.L, S.S.B, J.X.J, B.Y.L and M.H assisted with the field work; N.G wrote the first draft; A.A.D and Z.H.S contributed to interpretation of data and writing the manuscript; and Z.H.S designed and supported the study. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to
A. Allan Degen or Zhanhuan Shang.

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Communications Biology thanks Richard Nyamota, Hongfang Wang and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editors: Silvio Waschina and Mengtan Xing.

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Guo, N., Gou, N., Shi, F. et al. Short-chain fatty acids mediate interactions between immune responses and commensal bacteria in high altitude yaks.
Commun Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09351-7

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