The mouse gut microbiota responds to predator odor and predicts host behavior
- 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
- 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ USA
- 3Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
Abstract
Chronic stressors can alter the mammalian gut microbiota in ways that mediate host stress responses, but the impacts of acute stressors on these interactions are less well understood. Here, we show that brief exposure of wild-derived mice to predator odor altered gut-microbiota composition, which in turn predicted host behavior. We investigated the individual and combined effects of 15-minute exposures to synthetic fox fecal odor and 30 days of chronic social isolation, an established chronic stressor. Using ethological assays, visceral adipose tissue transcriptomics, and genome-resolved metagenomics, we found that predator-odor exposure significantly affected mouse behavior, gene expression, and gut microbiota. Predator odor–responsive bacteria were associated with the expression of genes involved in anti-microbial defense, and host behavioral responses were predicted by random forest models trained on gut-microbiota profiles. These findings indicate interactions between the gut microbiota and wild-mouse responses to the threat of predation, an ecologically relevant acute stressor.
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BibTeX
@article{real2026mouse,
title = {{The mouse gut microbiota responds to predator odor and predicts host behavior}},
author = {Madalena V. F. Real and Maren N. Vitousek and Michael J. Sheehan and Andrew H. Moeller},
journal = {NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41522-026-01028-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-026-01028-1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The mouse gut microbiota responds to predator odor and predicts host behavior
AU - Madalena V. F. Real
AU - Maren N. Vitousek
AU - Michael J. Sheehan
AU - Andrew H. Moeller
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/04
JO - NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes
DO - 10.1038/s41522-026-01028-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-026-01028-1
AB - Chronic stressors can alter the mammalian gut microbiota in ways that mediate host stress responses, but the impacts of acute stressors on these interactions are less well understood. Here, we show that brief exposure of wild-derived mice to predator odor altered gut-microbiota composition, which in turn predicted host behavior. We investigated the individual and combined effects of 15-minute exposures to synthetic fox fecal odor and 30 days of chronic social isolation, an established chronic stressor. Using ethological assays, visceral adipose tissue transcriptomics, and genome-resolved metagenomics, we found that predator-odor exposure significantly affected mouse behavior, gene expression, and gut microbiota. Predator odor–responsive bacteria were associated with the expression of genes involved in anti-microbial defense, and host behavioral responses were predicted by random forest models trained on gut-microbiota profiles. These findings indicate interactions between the gut microbiota and wild-mouse responses to the threat of predation, an ecologically relevant acute stressor.
SN - 2055-5008
ER -