Article
Vertebrate Hosts as Islands: Dynamics of Selection, Immigration, Loss, Persistence, and Potential Function of Bacteria on Salamander Skin
Frontiers in Microbiology
(2016)
Abstract
Skin bacterial communities can protect amphibians from a fungal pathogen; however,
little is known about how these communities are maintained. We used a neutral model of
community ecology to identify bacteria that are maintained on salamanders by selection
or by dispersal from a bacterial reservoir (soil) and ecological drift. We found that 75%
(9/12) of bacteria that were consistent with positive selection, <1% of bacteria that
were consistent with random dispersal and none of the bacteria that were consistent
under negative selection had a 97% or greater match to antifungal isolates. Additionally
we performed an experiment where salamanders were either provided or denied a
bacterial reservoir and estimated immigration and loss (emigration and local extinction)
rates of bacteria on salamanders in both treatments. Loss was strongly related to
bacterial richness, suggesting competition is important for structuring the community.
Bacteria closely related to antifungal isolates were more likely to persist on salamanders
with or without a bacterial reservoir, suggesting they had a competitive advantage.
Furthermore, over-represented and under-represented operational taxonomic units
(OTUs) had similar persistence on salamanders when a bacterial reservoir was present.
However, under-represented OTUs were less likely to persist in the absence of a
bacterial reservoir, suggesting that the over-represented and under-represented bacteria
were selected against or for on salamanders through time. Our findings from the
neutral model, migration and persistence analyses show that bacteria that exhibit a high
similarity to antifungal isolates persist on salamanders, which likely protect hosts against
pathogens and improve fitness. This research is one of the first to apply ecological
theory to investigate assembly of host associated-bacterial communities, which can
provide insights for probiotic bioaugmentation as a conservation strategy against
disease.
Disciplines
Publication Date
March, 2016
Citation Information
Andrew H Louden, Arvind Venkataraman, William Van Treuren, Douglas C Woodhams, et al.. "Vertebrate Hosts as Islands: Dynamics of Selection, Immigration, Loss, Persistence, and Potential Function of Bacteria on Salamander Skin" Frontiers in Microbiology (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jmu-cgems/4/