College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
Chemosphere. 2024 Sep;363:142874. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142874. Epub 2024 Jul 15.
Zinc (Zn) contaminants in the aquatic environment have an intricate impact on amphibians. Amphibian gut and skin microbiota are participated in regulating their normal physiological functions. Here, we investigated the effects of Zn on the gut and skin tissues and microbiota of Bufo gargarizans and Rana chensinensis tadpoles using histological methods and 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Our results showed a decrease in the height of enterocytes and skin epithelial cells after Zn treatment. Furthermore, Zn exposure elicited alterations in the composition and structure of the gut and skin microbiota at the phylum and genus levels in Bufo gargarizans and Rana chensinensis tadpoles. The feature predictions revealed an elevation in the abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria and stress-tolerant bacteria in the gut and skin of both tadpoles after zinc exposure. We also speculated that microbiota from various species and organs exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to zinc based on the functional predictions results. In the context of increasing environmental pollution and the global amphibians decline, our research enriches the current understanding of effects of zinc on amphibian microbiota and provides new framework for artificial breeding and amphibian conservation.
水环境中的锌（Zn）污染物对两栖动物有复杂的影响。两栖动物的肠道和皮肤微生物群参与调节其正常的生理功能。在这里，我们使用组织学方法和 16S rRNA 测序技术研究了 Zn 对中华蟾蜍和中国林蛙蝌蚪的肠道和皮肤组织及微生物群的影响。结果表明，Zn 处理后，肠细胞和皮肤上皮细胞的高度降低。此外，Zn 暴露在中华蟾蜍和中国林蛙蝌蚪的门和属水平上引起了肠道和皮肤微生物群的组成和结构的改变。特征预测表明，锌暴露后，两种蝌蚪的肠道和皮肤中潜在致病细菌和耐应激细菌的丰度增加。我们还推测，基于功能预测结果，来自不同物种和器官的微生物群对锌的敏感性存在不同程度的差异。在环境污染加剧和全球两栖动物减少的背景下，我们的研究丰富了锌对两栖动物微生物群影响的现有认识，并为人工繁殖和两栖动物保护提供了新的框架。
