Deconstructing the Bat Skin Microbiome: Influences of the Host and the Environment.

ABSTRACT: Bats are geographically widespread and play an important role in many ecosystems, but relatively little is known about the ecology of their associated microbial communities and the role microbial taxa play in bat health, development, and evolution. Moreover, few vertebrate animal skin microbiomes have been comprehensively assessed, and thus characterizing the bat skin microbiome will yield valuable insight into the variability of vertebrate skin microbiomes as a whole. The recent emergence of the skin fungal disease white-nose syndrome highlights the potentially important role bat skin microbial communities could play in bat health. Understanding the determinant of bat skin microbial communities could provide insight into important factors allowing individuals to persist with disease. We c

SUBMITTER: Avena CV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5112243 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature