Abstract
BackgroundThe observation that specific members of the microbial intestinal community can be shared among vertebrate hosts has promoted the concept of a core microbiota whose composition is determined by host-specific selection. Most studies investigating this concept in individual hosts have focused on mammals, yet the diversity of fish lineages provides unique comparative opportunities from an evolutionary, immunological and environmental perspective. Here we describe microbial intestinal communities of eleven individual Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) caught at a single location based on an extensively 454 sequenced 16S rRNA library of the V3 region.ResultsWe obtained a total of 280447 sequences and identify 573 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) at 97% sequence similarity level, ranging from 40 to 228 OTUs per individual. We find that ten OTUs are shared, though the number of reads of these OTUs is highly variable. This variation is further illustrated by community diversity estimates that fluctuate several orders of magnitude among specimens. The shared OTUs belong to the orders of Vibrionales, which quantitatively dominate the Atlantic cod intestinal microbiota, followed by variable numbers of Bacteroidales, Erysipelotrichales, Clostridiales, Alteromonadales and Deferribacterales.ConclusionsThe microbial intestinal community composition varies significantly in individual Atlantic cod specimens caught at a single location. This high variation among specimens suggests that a complex combination of factors influence the species distribution of these intestinal communities.
Highlights
The observation that specific members of the microbial intestinal community can be shared among vertebrate hosts has promoted the concept of a core microbiota whose composition is determined by host-specific selection
The intestinal microbial community provides a variety of crucial functions for their vertebrate hosts e.g. [1], though the factors that influence the colonization of this habitat are less understood
We investigate the intestinal microbial communities of 11 wild-caught Atlantic cod collected at a single location and quantify a core microbiota based on shared membership in a 454 sequenced 16S rRNA V3 region amplicon dataset
Summary
The observation that specific members of the microbial intestinal community can be shared among vertebrate hosts has promoted the concept of a core microbiota whose composition is determined by host-specific selection Most studies investigating this concept in individual hosts have focused on mammals, yet the diversity of fish lineages provides unique comparative opportunities from an evolutionary, immunological and environmental perspective. A extensive metaanalysis -based on uncultured and cultured sampling methods- indicates that the composition of the intestinal communities in teleosts is influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors [11] This meta-analysis is predominantly based on pooled Sanger sequencing data, and studies investigating microbial communities in fish using high-throughput sequencing are relatively rare. We investigate the intestinal microbial communities of 11 wild-caught Atlantic cod collected at a single location and quantify a core microbiota based on shared membership in a 454 sequenced 16S rRNA V3 region amplicon dataset
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
