Gut bacterial communities across tadpole ecomorphs in two diverse tropical anuran faunas
0301 basic medicine
Bacteria
590
Metamorphosis, Biological
Biodiversity
Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
Amphibia
Gastrointestinal Tract
03 medical and health sciences
Larva
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Gutmicrobiota
16SrRNA
Madagascar
Animals
Stableisotopes
Anura
Institut für Biochemie und Biologie
Tadpoles
Brazil
DOI:
10.1007/s00114-016-1348-1
Publication Date:
2016-02-29T04:14:50Z
AUTHORS (16)
ABSTRACT
Animal-associated microbial communities can play major roles in the physiology, development, ecology, and evolution of their hosts, but the study of their diversity has yet focused on a limited number of host species. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing of partial sequences of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to assess the diversity of the gut-inhabiting bacterial communities of 212 specimens of tropical anuran amphibians from Brazil and Madagascar. The core gut-associated bacterial communities among tadpoles from two different continents strongly overlapped, with eight highly represented operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in common. In contrast, the core communities of adults and tadpoles from Brazil were less similar with only one shared OTU. This suggests a community turnover at metamorphosis. Bacterial diversity was higher in tadpoles compared to adults. Distinct differences in composition and diversity occurred among gut bacterial communities of conspecific tadpoles from different water bodies and after experimental fasting for 8 days, demonstrating the influence of both environmental factors and food on the community structure. Communities from syntopic tadpoles clustered by host species both in Madagascar and Brazil, and the Malagasy tadpoles also had species-specific isotope signatures. We recommend future studies to analyze the turnover of anuran gut bacterial communities at metamorphosis, compare the tadpole core communities with those of other aquatic organisms, and assess the possible function of the gut microbiota as a reservoir for protective bacteria on the amphibian skin.
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