Neely Wesley J, Souza Kassia M C, Martins Renato A, Marshall Vanessa M, Buttimer Shannon M, Brito de Assis Ananda, Medina Daniel, Whetstone Ross D, Lyra Mariana L, Ribeiro José Wagner, Greenspan Sasha E, Haddad Célio F B, Alves Dos Anjos Luciano, Becker C Guilherme
Department of Biology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA.
Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.
R Soc Open Sci. 2024 Jun 12;11(6):240530. doi: 10.1098/rsos.240530. eCollection 2024 Jun.
Habitat fragmentation can negatively impact wildlife populations by simplification of ecological interactions, but little is known about how these impacts extend to host-associated symbiotic communities. The symbiotic communities of amphibians play important roles in anti-pathogen defences, particularly against the amphibian chytrid fungus (). In this study, we analyse the role of macroparasitic helminth communities in concert with microbial communities in defending the host against infection within the context of forest fragmentation. We found that skin microbial and helminth communities are disrupted at fragmented habitats, while gut microbiomes appear more resilient to environmental change. We also detected potential protective roles of helminth diversity and anti-pathogen microbial function in limiting infection. Microbial network analysis revealed strong patterns of structure in both skin and gut communities, with helminths playing central roles in these networks. We reveal consistent roles of microbial and helminth diversity in driving host-pathogen interactions and the potential implications of fragmentation on host fitness.
栖息地破碎化会通过简化生态相互作用对野生动物种群产生负面影响,但对于这些影响如何扩展到与宿主相关的共生群落却知之甚少。两栖动物的共生群落在抗病原体防御中发挥着重要作用,特别是对抗两栖类壶菌( )。在本研究中,我们分析了大型寄生蠕虫群落与微生物群落协同作用在森林破碎化背景下保护宿主免受感染的作用。我们发现,在破碎化栖息地中,皮肤微生物和蠕虫群落受到干扰,而肠道微生物群似乎对环境变化更具恢复力。我们还检测到蠕虫多样性和抗病原体微生物功能在限制感染方面的潜在保护作用。微生物网络分析揭示了皮肤和肠道群落中强大的结构模式,蠕虫在这些网络中发挥着核心作用。我们揭示了微生物和蠕虫多样性在驱动宿主 - 病原体相互作用中的一致作用以及破碎化对宿主健康的潜在影响。