Skin bacterial microbiome of a generalist Puerto Rican frog varies along elevation and land use gradients.

ABSTRACT: Host-associated microbial communities are ubiquitous among animals, and serve important functions. For example, the bacterial skin microbiome of amphibians can play a role in preventing or reducing infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Evidence suggests that environmental bacteria likely serve as a source pool for at least some of the members of the amphibian skin bacterial community, underscoring the potential for local environmental changes to disrupt microbial community source pools that could be critical to the health of host organisms. However, few studies have assessed variation in the amphibian skin microbiome along clear environmental gradients, and so we know relatively little about how local environmental conditions influence microbiome

SUBMITTER: Hughey MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5580383 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature