The animal gut microbiota is strongly influenced by environmental factors that shape their temporal dynamics. Although diet is recognized as a major driver of gut microbiota variation, dietary patterns have seldom been linked to gut microbiota dynamics in wild animals. Here, we analysed the gut microbiota variation between dry and rainy seasons across four Sceloporus species (S. aeneus, S. bicanthalis, S. grammicus and S. spinosus) from central Mexico in light of temporal changes in diet composition. The lizard microbiota was dominated by Firmicutes (now Bacillota) and Bacteroidota, and the closely related species S. aeneus and S. bicanthalis shared a great number of core bacterial taxa. We report species‐specific seasonal changes in gut microbiota diversity and composition: greater alpha diversity during the dry compared to the rainy season in S. bicanthalis, the opposite pattern in S. aeneus, and no seasonal differences in S. grammicus and S. spinosus. Our findings indicated a positive association between gut bacterial composition and dietary composition for S. bicanthalis and S. grammicus, but bacterial diversity did not increase linearly with dietary richness in any lizard species. In addition, seasonality affected bacterial composition, and microbial community similarity increased between S. aeneus and S. bicanthalis, as well as between S. grammicus and S. spinosus. Together, our results illustrate that seasonal variation and dietary composition play a role in shaping gut microbiota in lizard populations, but this is not a rule and other ecological factors influence microbiota variation.

Bark beetles are among the primary drivers of tree mortality in coniferous forests worldwide. Individuals belonging to the order Coleoptera were identified across different forest areas in Honduras. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the number of families, subfamilies, genera, and species collected per department. Moreover, the barcoding approach was used by amplifying and sequencing the mitochondrial COI gene. The intraspecific genetic diversity of Ips apache was also analyzed. 1,131 individuals were examined and 27 genera were identified. Most of the specimens were identified as belonging to the genus Ips, accounting for 53.2% of the total. Xyleborus accounted for 16.5% and Temnoscheila accounted for 10%. Fewer than four individuals were found for fifteen genera. 68% of the specimens were identified to the species level, and all the specimens were identified to the genus level. Ips, Temnoscheila, Xyleborus, Hypothenemus, and Pityophthorus exhibited the most extensive geographic distribution among the sampled sites. At the genus level, Olancho, El Paraíso, and Copán displayed the highest diversity. This study also marks the first report of the genera Xylomeira and Stephanopachys in Honduran pine forests. Within I. apache, evidence of intraspecific genetic diversity was observed, although no population structure was detected. While this research provides an updated inventory of beetle species associated with Honduran coniferous forests, further taxonomic surveys and ecological studies are essential to better understand the spread and impact of bark beetles in pine ecosystems.

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs), primarily caused by Candida species, represent a significant global public health concern due to their high mortality rates and growing antifungal resistance. In Honduras, data on their epidemiology remains scarce. This study aimed to characterize Candida species associated with candidemia and assess key virulence factors. A total of 80 clinical isolates were collected from four hospitals in Honduras’s major cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. Identification was performed using both phenotypic and molecular methods. Hemolytic activity, phospholipase and protease production, and biofilm formation were evaluated. C. albicans and C. tropicalis were the most prevalent species (30% each), followed by C. parapsilosis (27.5%). Phenotypic methods misidentified 13.8% of the isolates. Most strains (96.3%) exhibited strong hemolytic activity. C. albicans showed the highest phospholipase activity, while C. tropicalis was the most robust film producer. These findings highlight an evolving epidemiological landscape characterized by an increasing prevalence of non-albicans Candida species, often less susceptible to antifungal agents, and diverse virulence profiles such as strong biofilm formation. This underscores the clinical need for accurate species-level identification through molecular diagnostics and ongoing surveillance to guide targeted antifungal therapy and enable early, locally adapted interventions.

Genome-resolved metagenomics, based on shotgun sequencing, has become a powerful strategy for investigating animal-associated bacterial communities, due its heightened capability for delivering detailed taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional insights compared to amplicon sequencing-based approaches. While genome-resolved metagenomics holds promise across various non-lethal sample types, their effectiveness in yielding high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes remains largely unexplored. Our investigation of fecal and cloacal microbiota of the mesquite lizards (Sceloporus grammicus) using genome-resolved metagenomics revealed that fecal samples contributed 97% of the 127 reconstructed bacterial genomes, whereas only 3% were recovered from cloacal swabs, which were largely enriched with host DNA. Taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional alpha bacterial diversity was greater in fecal samples than in cloacal swabs. We also observed significant differences in bacterial community composition between sampling methods, and higher inter-individual variation in cloacal swabs. Bacteroides, Phocaeicola and Parabacteroides (all Bacteroidota) were more abundant in the feces, whereas Hafnia and Salmonella (both Pseudomonadota) increased in the cloaca. Functional analyses showed that metabolic capacities of the microbiota to degrade polysaccharides, sugars and nitrogen compounds were enriched in fecal samples, likely reflecting the role of intestinal bacteria in nutrient metabolism. Overall, our results indicate that fecal samples outperform cloacal swabs in characterizing bacterial assemblages within lizards using genome-resolved metagenomics.