Correlation Between Microbial Community and Hatching Failure in Loggerhead Sea Turtle Caretta caretta

Microbial communities provide essential information about host ecology and could be helpful as a tool to improve species conservation efforts. However, microbes can also infect and compromise the host development process and viability. Caretta caretta is the most widespread marine turtle species in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microbial ecology 2023-10, Vol.86 (3), p.1923-1933
Main Authors: Capri, Fanny Claire, Prazzi, Elena, Casamento, Giulia, Gambino, Delia, Cassata, Giovanni, Alduina, Rosa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic reptiles
Bacteria
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Caretta caretta
Coasts
Composition
Correlation
Ecology
Eggs
Failure
Failures
Fungi
Geoecology/Natural Processes
Hatching
Life Sciences
Microbial activity
Microbial Ecology
Microbiological analysis
Microbiology
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microorganisms
Nature Conservation
Nesting
Nests
Next-generation sequencing
Pathogens
Reptiles & amphibians
rRNA 16S
Sea turtles
Success
Tourism
Turtles
Water Quality/Water Pollution
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Microbial communities provide essential information about host ecology and could be helpful as a tool to improve species conservation efforts. However, microbes can also infect and compromise the host development process and viability. Caretta caretta is the most widespread marine turtle species in the Mediterranean basin and is the only species of sea turtle nesting along the Italian coasts. Little is known about the microbiota composition of the nest of sea turtles and its correlation with hatching failures. In this study, the microbial composition of two nests of C. caretta featuring different rates of hatching success from a nesting beach in Lampedusa (Italy) was analyzed and compared. The bacterial community was determined using culture-dependent methods and next-generation sequencing based on 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding analysis. Our results showed five dominant bacterial phyla (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes) and indicated different bacterial families ( Pseudomonadaceae and Brucellaceae ) as likely causes of hatching failures. Besides, our findings demonstrated the nests’ active role in modulating the sand’s bacterial communities. This study suggests microbiological analysis could be a valuable tool in monitoring nests to take preventive actions and reduce hatching failures.
ISSN:0095-3628
1432-184X
1432-184X
DOI:10.1007/s00248-023-02197-8