Abstract
BackgroundMammalian commensal microbiota play important roles in the health of its host. In comparison to terrestrial mammals, commensal microbiota of marine mammals is mainly focused on the composition and function of skin and gut microbiota, with less attention paid to the health impact of bacteria and viruses. Previous studies on sperm whales (Physeter catodon) have affirmed their important phylogenetic position; however, studies on their commensal microbiota have not been published, due to difficulty in sample collection.MethodsHere, we sequenced the metagenomes of blood, muscle and fecal samples from a stranded sperm whale using the BGISEQ-500 platform. We compared the diversity and abundance of microbiomes from three different tissues and tried to search pathogenic bacterial and virulence genes probably related to the health of the sperm whale. We also performed 16S rDNA sequencing of the fecal sample to compare to published gut metagenome data from other marine mammals.ResultsOur results demonstrated notable differences in species richness and abundance in the three samples. Extensive bacteria, including Enterococcus faecium, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus anginosus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus suis, and five toxigenic Clostridium species usually associated with infection, were found in the three samples. We also found the taxa composition of sperm whale gut microbiota was similar to that of other whales, suggesting co-evolution with its host. This study is the first report of the sperm whale gut microbiome, and provides a foundation for the pathogen detection and health assessment of the sperm whale.
Highlights
Microorganisms exist widely in mammal bodies and the environment, and they are indispensable to the health of mammals (Cho & Blaser, 2012; Human Microbiome Project, 2012; McFall-Ngai, Hadfield & Bosch, 2013)
Investigations of marine mammalian symbiotic microbes were mainly focused on the composition and function of skin microbiota communities in order to examine the potential for a core bacterial community and its variability with specific host or environmental factors (Apprill, Robbins & Eren, 2014; Hooper & Brealey, 2019; Bierlich et al, 2018)
As far as diseases in marine mammals have been concerned, few studies have been conducted on the health impact of bacteria and viruses on marine mammals, which might be limited due to the difficulties in sample collection and the opportunistic nature of stranding events (Godoy-Vitorino, Rodriguez-Hilario & Alves, 2017; Van Bressem et al, 2014)
Summary
Microorganisms exist widely in mammal bodies and the environment, and they are indispensable to the health of mammals (Cho & Blaser, 2012; Human Microbiome Project, 2012; McFall-Ngai, Hadfield & Bosch, 2013). The study of marine mammalian symbiotic microbes is important to understand the health of marine mammals and their conservation. The composition of the gut microbiomes of marine mammals have been extensively studied, focusing on the putative functionality of these symbiotic communities, differences between marine mammals, and correlationship between marine mammals’ diet and evolution (Bik, Costello & Switzer, 2016; Erwin et al, 2017; Merson, Ouwerkerk & Gulino, 2014; Nelson et al, 2013; Sanders et al, 2015). In comparison to terrestrial mammals, commensal microbiota of marine mammals is mainly focused on the composition and function of skin and gut microbiota, with less attention paid to the health impact of bacteria and viruses. This study is the first report of the sperm whale gut microbiome, and provides a foundation for the pathogen detection and health assessment of the sperm whale
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