The skin microbiome of cow‐nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) in an aquarium touch‐tank exhibit

• Published in: Zoo biology 2017-05, Vol.36 (3), p.226-230
• Main Authors: Kearns, Patrick J., Bowen, Jennifer L., Tlusty, Michael F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 16S rRNA gene; Above ground tanks; Animal health; Animal Husbandry; Animals; Aquariums; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Communities; Community structure; cow‐nose ray; DNA, Bacterial - classification; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Bacterial - isolation & purification; elasmobranch; Gene sequencing; Housing, Animal; Microbial activity; microbiome; Microbiota - physiology; Microorganisms; Next-generation sequencing; Nose; RNA, Bacterial - classification; RNA, Bacterial - genetics; RNA, Bacterial - isolation & purification; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Skates (Fish) - microbiology; Skin; Skin - microbiology; Tanks; Touch; touch‐tank
• ISSN: 0733-3188; 1098-2361
• DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21362

Public aquaria offer numerous educational opportunities for visitors while touch‐tank exhibits offer guests the ability to directly interact with marine life via physical contact. Despite the popularity of touch‐tanks, there is a paucity of research about animal health in these exhibits and, in particular, there is little research on the microbial communities in these highly interactive exhibits. Microbial community structure can have implications for both host health and habitat function. To better understand the microbiome of a touch‐tank we used high‐throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to analyze the microbial community on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of cow‐nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) as well as their environment in a frequently visited touch‐tank exhibit at the New England Aquarium. Our analyses revealed a distinct microbial community associated with the skin of the ray that had lower diversity than the surrounding habitat. The ray skin was dominated by three orders: Burkholderiales (∼55%), Flavobacteriales (∼19%), and Pseudomonadales (∼12%), taxonomic groups commonly associated with other fish species. Our results provide a survey of ray‐associated bacterial communities in a touch‐tank environment, thereby laying the foundation for future studies examining the role of potential challenges to ray microbiota and their associated health.