Amphibian symbiotic bacteria do not show universal ability to inhibit growth of the global pandemic lineage of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Antwis, RE; Preziosi, RF; Harrison, X; Garner, TWJ

Abstract

Microbiomes associated with multicellular organisms influence the disease susceptibility of hosts. The potential exists for such bacteria to protect wildlife from infectious diseases, particularly in the case of the globally distributed and highly virulent fungal
pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis of the global panzootic lineage (B. dendrobatidis GPL), responsible for mass extinctions and population declines of amphibians. B. dendrobatidis GPL exhibits wide genotypic and virulence variation, and the ability of candidate probiotics to restrict growth across B. dendrobatidis isolates has not previously been considered. Here we show that only a small proportion of candidate probiotics exhibited broad-spectrum inhibition across B. dendrobatidis GPL
isolates. Moreover, some bacterial genera showed significantly greater inhibition than others, but overall, genus and species were not particularly reliable predictors of inhibitory capabilities. These findings indicate that bacterial consortia are likely to offer a more stable and effective approach to probiotics, particularly if related bacteria are selected from genera with greater antimicrobial
capabilities. Together these results highlight a complex interaction between pathogens and host-associated symbiotic bacteria that will require consideration in the development of bacterial probiotics for wildlife conservation. Future efforts to construct protective microbiomes should incorporate bacteria that exhibit broad-spectrum inhibition of B. dendrobatidis GPL isolates.

Citation

Antwis, R., Preziosi, R., Harrison, X., & Garner, T. (2015). Amphibian symbiotic bacteria do not show universal ability to inhibit growth of the global pandemic lineage of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 81, 3706-3711. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00010-15

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 10, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Mar 27, 2015
• Publication Date: May 5, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 28, 2015
• Journal: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Print ISSN: 0099-2240
• Electronic ISSN: 1098-5336
• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 81
• Pages: 3706-3711
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00010-15
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00010-15
• Related Public URLs: http://aem.asm.org/search?fulltext=Amphibian+symbiotic+bacteria+do+not+show+universal+ability+to+inhibit+growth+of+the+global+pandemic+lineage+of+Batrachochytrium+dendrobatidis&submit=yes&x=0&y=0
• Additional Information: Funders : Biotechnology and Biosciences Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)