Comparative analysis of the fecal bacterial community of five harbor seals (Phoca vitulina)
نویسندگان
چکیده
The gut microbiota has many beneficial effects on host metabolism and health, and its composition is determined by numerous factors. It is also assumed that there was a co-evolution of mammals and the bacteria inhabiting their gut. Current knowledge of the mammalian gut microbiota mainly derives from studies on humans and terrestrial animals, whereas those on marine mammals are sparse. However, they could provide additional information on influencing factors, such as the role of diet and co-evolution with the host. In this study, we investigated and compared the bacterial diversity in the feces of five male harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Because this small population included two half-brother pairs, each sharing a common father, it allowed an evaluation of the impact of host relatedness or genetic similarity on the gut microbial community. Fresh feces obtained from the seals by an enema were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The results showed that the bacterial communities in the seals' feces mainly consisted of the phyla Firmicutes (19-43%), Bacteroidetes (22-36%), Fusobacteria (18-32%), and Proteobacteria (5-17%) . Twenty-one bacterial members present in the fecal samples of the five seals contributed an average relative abundance of 93.7 + 8.7% of the total fecal microbial community. Contrary to all expectations based on previous studies a comparison of the fecal community between individual seals showed a higher similarity between unrelated than related individuals.
منابع مشابه
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in North-eastern Atlantic harbor seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) and grey seal (Halichoerus grypus).
Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were determined in serum samples from 47 grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and 56 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) from the Atlantic coasts of United Kingdom and France. Antibodies to T. gondii assayed by the modified agglutination test (MAT) were found in 14 (13.6%; IC(95%): 7.0-20.2) of 103 seals tested, with titres of 1:25 in 13 seals and 1:50 in 1 seal. S...
متن کاملHistological investigations on the thyroid glands of marine mammals (Phoca vitulina, Phocoena phocoena) and the possible implications of marine pollution.
In 1988 and 1989, thousands of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) died in the North Sea from phocine distemper infection. The morphology of thyroid glands from 40 harbor seals found dead on the North Sea coastlines of Schleswig-Holstein, Federal Republic of Germany, during an epizootic of phocine distemper, was compared with the morphology of thyroid glands from five healthy harbor seals collected i...
متن کاملSeroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in southern Puget Sound, Washington.
As part of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, serum samples from 380 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) were tested for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in the modified agglutination test (MAT) incorporating formalin-fixed tachyzoites and mercaptoethanol. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 29 of 380 (7.6%) seals with titers of 1:25 in 13, ...
متن کاملArsenic speciation in bodily fluids of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
متن کامل
The transmission of phocine herpesvirus-1 in rehabilitating and free-ranging Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in California.
Phocine herpesvirus-1 (PhHV-1) causes regular outbreaks of disease in neonatal harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at rehabilitation centers in Europe and in the U.S. To investigate transmission of this virus samples were collected from harbor seal pups during exposure studies at a Californian rehabilitation center from 1999 to 2002 and from free-ranging harbor seals off central California during the...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره 5 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016