Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii)
Abstract As apex predators, pinnipeds are considered to be useful bioindicators of marine and coastal environments. Endemic to a small archipelago in the South Pacific, the Juan Fernandez fur seal (JFFS) is one of the less‐studied members of the pinniped family Otariidae. This study aimed to charact...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2021-08-01
|
| Series: | MicrobiologyOpen |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.1215 |
| _version_ | 1819124521828876288 |
|---|---|
| author | Constanza Toro‐Valdivieso Frederick Toro Samuel Stubbs Eduardo Castro‐Nallar Barbara Blacklaws |
| author_facet | Constanza Toro‐Valdivieso Frederick Toro Samuel Stubbs Eduardo Castro‐Nallar Barbara Blacklaws |
| author_sort | Constanza Toro‐Valdivieso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract As apex predators, pinnipeds are considered to be useful bioindicators of marine and coastal environments. Endemic to a small archipelago in the South Pacific, the Juan Fernandez fur seal (JFFS) is one of the less‐studied members of the pinniped family Otariidae. This study aimed to characterize the fecal microbiome of the JFFS for the first time, to establish a baseline for future studies of host–microbial–environment interactions and monitoring programs. During two consecutive reproductive seasons, 57 fecal samples were collected from seven different JFFS colonies within the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile. Bacterial composition and abundance were characterized by sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The overall microbiome composition was dominated by five phyla: Firmicutes (40% ±24), Fusobacteria (30% ±17), Bacteroidetes (22% ±10), Proteobacteria (6% ±4), and Actinobacteria (2% ±3). Alpha diversity was higher in Tierras Blancas. However, location was not found to be a dominant driver of microbial composition. Interestingly, the strongest signal in the data was a negative association between the genera Peptoclostridium and Fusobacterium, which explained 29.7% of the total microbial composition variability between samples. The genus Peptoclostridium has not been reported in other pinniped studies, and its role here is unclear, with interpretation challenging due to a lack of information regarding microbiome functionality in marine mammals. As a first insight into the JFFS fecal microbiome, these results contribute towards our understanding of the natural microbial diversity and composition in free‐ranging pinnipeds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T07:25:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-283b3ab588e74f56aeff4fc1c2ed16a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-8827 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T07:25:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | MicrobiologyOpen |
| spelling | doaj.art-283b3ab588e74f56aeff4fc1c2ed16a52022-12-21T18:34:09ZengWileyMicrobiologyOpen2045-88272021-08-01104n/an/a10.1002/mbo3.1215Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii)Constanza Toro‐Valdivieso0Frederick Toro1Samuel Stubbs2Eduardo Castro‐Nallar3Barbara Blacklaws4Department of Veterinary Medicine University of Cambridge Cambridge UKFacultad de Ciencias de la Vida Universidad Andres Bello Santiago ChileDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London UKCenter for Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology Universidad Andres Bello Santiago ChileDepartment of Veterinary Medicine University of Cambridge Cambridge UKAbstract As apex predators, pinnipeds are considered to be useful bioindicators of marine and coastal environments. Endemic to a small archipelago in the South Pacific, the Juan Fernandez fur seal (JFFS) is one of the less‐studied members of the pinniped family Otariidae. This study aimed to characterize the fecal microbiome of the JFFS for the first time, to establish a baseline for future studies of host–microbial–environment interactions and monitoring programs. During two consecutive reproductive seasons, 57 fecal samples were collected from seven different JFFS colonies within the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile. Bacterial composition and abundance were characterized by sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The overall microbiome composition was dominated by five phyla: Firmicutes (40% ±24), Fusobacteria (30% ±17), Bacteroidetes (22% ±10), Proteobacteria (6% ±4), and Actinobacteria (2% ±3). Alpha diversity was higher in Tierras Blancas. However, location was not found to be a dominant driver of microbial composition. Interestingly, the strongest signal in the data was a negative association between the genera Peptoclostridium and Fusobacterium, which explained 29.7% of the total microbial composition variability between samples. The genus Peptoclostridium has not been reported in other pinniped studies, and its role here is unclear, with interpretation challenging due to a lack of information regarding microbiome functionality in marine mammals. As a first insight into the JFFS fecal microbiome, these results contribute towards our understanding of the natural microbial diversity and composition in free‐ranging pinnipeds.https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.1215Arctophoca philippiimarine mammalsmicrobiomepinnipedsscatology |
| spellingShingle | Constanza Toro‐Valdivieso Frederick Toro Samuel Stubbs Eduardo Castro‐Nallar Barbara Blacklaws Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) MicrobiologyOpen Arctophoca philippii marine mammals microbiome pinnipeds scatology |
| title | Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) |
| title_full | Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) |
| title_fullStr | Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) |
| title_short | Patterns of the fecal microbiota in the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) |
| title_sort | patterns of the fecal microbiota in the juan fernandez fur seal arctocephalus philippii |
| topic | Arctophoca philippii marine mammals microbiome pinnipeds scatology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.1215 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT constanzatorovaldivieso patternsofthefecalmicrobiotainthejuanfernandezfursealarctocephalusphilippii AT fredericktoro patternsofthefecalmicrobiotainthejuanfernandezfursealarctocephalusphilippii AT samuelstubbs patternsofthefecalmicrobiotainthejuanfernandezfursealarctocephalusphilippii AT eduardocastronallar patternsofthefecalmicrobiotainthejuanfernandezfursealarctocephalusphilippii AT barbarablacklaws patternsofthefecalmicrobiotainthejuanfernandezfursealarctocephalusphilippii |