Abstract
Habitat bioaugmentation and introduction of protective microbiota have been proposed as potential conservation strategies to rescue endangered mammals and amphibians from emerging diseases. For both strategies, insight into the microbiomes of the endangered species and their habitats is essential. Here, we sampled nests of the endangered sea turtle species Eretmochelys imbricata that were infected with the fungal pathogen Fusarium falciforme. Metagenomic analysis of the bacterial communities associated with the shells of the sea turtle eggs revealed approximately 16,664 operational taxonomic units, with Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes as the most dominant phyla. Subsequent isolation of Actinobacteria from the eggshells led to the identification of several genera (Streptomyces, Amycolaptosis, Micromomospora Plantactinospora and Solwaraspora) that inhibit hyphal growth of the pathogen F. falciforme. These bacterial genera constitute a first set of microbial indicators to evaluate the potential role of microbiota in conservation of endangered sea turtle species.
Highlights
Sea turtles are one of the most endangered groups of animals worldwide with only seven species left [1]
Fungal isolation and molecular characterization A total of 10 fungal isolates were obtained from the eggshells (Figure 1, S1) and initially identified as F. solani based on National Centre of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) BLAST analysis of the ITS nrDNA sequences (Table 1)
The Actinobacteria comprised on average, 0.2% of the total aerobic bacteria enumerated on 1/10th Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA) (Table S1)
Summary
Sea turtles are one of the most endangered groups of animals worldwide with only seven species left [1]. Establishment of ex situ colonies and ‘habitat bioaugmentation and biotherapy’ have been proposed to prevent dispersal of the fungal pathogen Batrachotrichum dendrobatidis in amphibian populations [4]. The latter two strategies encompass the use of protective microbiota, either indigenous or introduced, to limit pathogen infection and spread. This is due, in part, to a lack of knowledge of the overall diversity of microbiota associated with endangered species and their role, if any, in protecting their hosts against pathogen infection [14]
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