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Comparing the bacterial communities of wild and captive golden mantella frogs: Implications for amphibian conservation

Passos, L; Garcia, G; Young, RJ

Comparing the bacterial communities of wild and captive golden mantella frogs: Implications for amphibian conservation Thumbnail


Authors

L Passos

G Garcia



Abstract

Bacterial communities are frequently found in symbiotic associations with most animal species. The characteristically moist amphibian skin provides a good environment for the growth of some species of bacteria; among these a few can act as a first line defense mechanism against infections. Amphibians in the wild have relatively high exposure to bacteria through environmental transmission and through interactions with different conspecifics, whilst in captivity animals interact with fewer individuals, as well as experiencing a less complex environment through which to obtain their bacterial community. Here we compared the skin microbiota of captive and wild Mantella aurantiaca to investigate whether the captive environment was affecting individuals’ skin associated bacteria. This could have survivorship implications if captive animals had a different skin microbial community in comparison to wild counterparts and they were to be used in a reintroduction program. The microbial community were characterized through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing methodology. Analyses showed that captive individuals had significantly lower diversity of bacterial species and lower relative abundant microbiota when compared to wild populations; this could result in captive frogs released back to the wild probably has greater susceptibility to infections due to inadequate skin microbiota.

Citation

Passos, L., Garcia, G., & Young, R. (2018). Comparing the bacterial communities of wild and captive golden mantella frogs: Implications for amphibian conservation. PLoS ONE, 13(10), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205652

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 28, 2018
Online Publication Date Jan 1, 2018
Publication Date Jan 1, 2018
Deposit Date Jun 2, 2023
Publicly Available Date Jun 6, 2023
Journal PLOS ONE
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 13
Issue 10
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205652

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