Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, 1903 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, USA.
Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
Microbiome. 2017 Oct 30;5(1):146. doi: 10.1186/s40168-017-0365-4.
The microbiome provides multiple benefits to animal hosts that can profoundly impact health and behavior. Microbiomes are well-characterized in humans and other animals in controlled settings, yet assessments of wild bird microbial communities remain vastly understudied. This is particularly true for pelagic seabirds with unique life histories that differ from terrestrial bird species. This study was designed to examine how morphological, genetic, environmental, and social factors affect the microbiome of a burrow-nesting seabird species, Leach's storm petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). These seabirds are highly olfactory and may rely on microbiome-mediated odor cues during mate selection. Composition and structure of bacterial communities associated with the uropygial gland and brood patch were assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon-based Illumina Mi-Seq analysis and compared to burrow-associated bacterial communities. This is the first study to examine microbial diversity associated with multiple body sites on a seabird species.
Results indicate that sex and skin site contribute most to bacterial community variation in Leach's storm petrels and that major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotype may impact the composition of bacterial assemblages in males. In contrast to terrestrial birds and other animals, environmental and social interactions do not significantly influence storm petrel-associated bacterial assemblages. Thus, individual morphological and genetic influences outweighed environmental and social factors on microbiome composition.
Contrary to observations of terrestrial birds, microbiomes of Leach's storm petrels vary most by the sex of the bird and by the body site sampled, rather than environmental surroundings or social behavior.
微生物组为动物宿主提供了多种益处，这些益处可以深刻影响其健康和行为。在受控环境中，人类和其他动物的微生物组已经得到了很好的描述，但对野生鸟类微生物群落的评估仍远远不够。对于具有独特生活史的远洋海鸟来说，情况尤其如此，它们与陆地鸟类物种不同。本研究旨在研究形态、遗传、环境和社会因素如何影响穴居海鸟——黑叉尾海燕（Oceanodroma leucorhoa）的微生物组。这些海鸟嗅觉灵敏，在选择配偶时可能依赖于微生物组介导的气味线索。使用基于 16S rRNA 扩增子的 Illumina Mi-Seq 分析评估了尾脂腺和育雏斑相关的细菌群落的组成和结构，并与穴居相关的细菌群落进行了比较。这是首次研究与海鸟多个身体部位相关的微生物多样性的研究。
结果表明，性别和皮肤部位对黑叉尾海燕的细菌群落变异贡献最大，而主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）基因型可能影响雄性细菌组合的组成。与陆地鸟类和其他动物不同，环境和社会相互作用不会显著影响海燕相关的细菌组合。因此，个体形态和遗传影响超过了环境和社会因素对微生物组组成的影响。
与陆地鸟类的观察结果相反，黑叉尾海燕的微生物组主要由鸟类的性别和采样的身体部位决定，而不是周围环境或社会行为。
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