Host species, pathogens and disease associated with divergent nasal microbial communities in tortoises.

ABSTRACT: Diverse bacterial communities are found on every surface of macro-organisms, and they play important roles in maintaining normal physiological functions in their hosts. While the study of microbiomes has expanded with the influx of data enabled by recent technological advances, microbiome research in reptiles lags behind other organisms. We sequenced the nasal microbiomes in a sample of four North American tortoise species, and we found differing community compositions among tortoise species and sampling sites, with higher richness and diversity in Texas and Sonoran desert tortoises. Using these data, we investigated the prevalence and operational taxonomic unit (OTU) diversity of the potential pathogen Pasteurella testudinis and found it to be common, abundant and highly diverse. H

SUBMITTER: Weitzman CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6227988 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature