Diversity-Stability Dynamics of the Amphibian Skin Microbiome and Susceptibility to a Lethal Viral Pathogen.

ABSTRACT: Variation among animals in their host-associated microbial communities is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of important life history traits including growth, metabolism, and resistance to disease. Quantitative estimates of the factors shaping the stability of host microbiomes over time at the individual level in non-model organisms are scarce. Addressing this gap in our knowledge is important, as variation among individuals in microbiome stability may represent temporal gain or loss of key microbial species and functions linked to host health and/or fitness. Here we use controlled experiments to investigate how both heterogeneity in microbial species richness of the environment and exposure to the emerging pathogen Ranavirus influence the structure and temporal dynamics

SUBMITTER: Harrison XA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6951417 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature