Community Structure and Function of Amphibian Skin Microbes: An Experiment with Bullfrogs Exposed to a Chytrid Fungus

The vertebrate microbiome contributes to disease resistance, but few experiments have examined the link between microbiome community structure and disease resistance functions. Chytridiomycosis, a major cause of amphibian population declines, is a skin disease caused by the fungus, Batrachochytrium...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-10, Vol.10 (10), p.e0139848-e0139848
Main Authors: Walke, Jenifer B, Becker, Matthew H, Loftus, Stephen C, House, Leanna L, Teotonio, Thais L, Minbiole, Kevin P C, Belden, Lisa K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agalychnis callidryas
Amphibians
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Antibiotics
Bacteria
Base Sequence
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Chytridiomycosis
Chytridiomycota - drug effects
Chytridiomycota - isolation & purification
Chytridiomycota - physiology
Communities
Community structure
Dermatomycoses - etiology
Dermatomycoses - microbiology
Dermatomycoses - veterinary
Disease resistance
Exposure
Frogs
Fungi
Infections
Laboratories
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
Microbiota - drug effects
Microorganisms
Molecular Sequence Data
Physiological aspects
Population decline
Probiotics
Rana catesbeiana - growth & development
Rana catesbeiana - metabolism
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - chemistry
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - metabolism
Skin
Skin - microbiology
Skin diseases
Structure-function relationships
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Summary:The vertebrate microbiome contributes to disease resistance, but few experiments have examined the link between microbiome community structure and disease resistance functions. Chytridiomycosis, a major cause of amphibian population declines, is a skin disease caused by the fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). In a factorial experiment, bullfrog skin microbiota was reduced with antibiotics, augmented with an anti-Bd bacterial isolate (Janthinobacterium lividum), or unmanipulated, and individuals were then either exposed or not exposed to Bd. We found that the microbial community structure of individual frogs prior to Bd exposure influenced Bd infection intensity one week following exposure, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with proportional growth during the experiment. Microbial community structure and function differed among unmanipulated, antibiotic-treated, and augmented frogs only when frogs were exposed to Bd. Bd is a selective force on microbial community structure and function, and beneficial states of microbial community structure may serve to limit the impacts of infection.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0139848