Location Matters: Variations in Cloacal Microbiota Composition of Spatially Separated Freshwater Turtles.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiota of vertebrates is malleable and may be shaped by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Here, the effect that geography has on the cloacal microbiota of two species of Australian freshwater chelonians, eastern longneck turtle (Chelodina longicollis) and Macquarie River turtle (Emydura macquarii), captured from waterbodies with different levels of anthropogenic pressure was investigated. We analysed the microbiota composition, structure and diversity through 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. It was hypothesised that animals from less disturbed environments would harbour a more diverse cloacal microbial population. The cloacal microbiotas from 93 turtles (C. longicollis n = 78; E. macquarii n = 15), from five locations, were analysed. For both species, the most predominant

SUBMITTER: Scheelings TF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11568018 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature