Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics
Abstract Background Host-specific microbiomes play an important role in individual health and ecology; in marine mammals, epidermal microbiomes may be a protective barrier between the host and its aqueous environment. Understanding these epidermal-associated microbial communities, and their ecologic...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1/fulltext.html |
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crspringernat:10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1 2023-05-15T15:41:34+02:00 Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics Van Cise, Amy M. Wade, Paul R. Goertz, Caroline E. C. Burek-Huntington, Kathy Parsons, Kim M. Clauss, Tonya Hobbs, Roderick C. Apprill, Amy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Alaska Fisheries Science Center Georgia Aquarium Alaska Department of Fish and Game Shedd Aquarium Mystic Aquarium Alaska Veterinary Pathology Service 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Animal Microbiome volume 2, issue 1 ISSN 2524-4671 journal-article 2020 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1 2022-01-04T14:12:29Z Abstract Background Host-specific microbiomes play an important role in individual health and ecology; in marine mammals, epidermal microbiomes may be a protective barrier between the host and its aqueous environment. Understanding these epidermal-associated microbial communities, and their ecological- or health-driven variability, is the first step toward developing health indices for rapid assessment of individual or population health. In Cook Inlet, Alaska, an endangered population of beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) numbers fewer than 300 animals and continues to decline, despite more than a decade of conservation effort. Characterizing the epidermal microbiome of this species could provide insight into the ecology and health of this endangered population and allow the development of minimally invasive health indicators based on tissue samples. Results We sequenced the hypervariable IV region of bacterial and archaeal SSU rRNA genes from epidermal tissue samples collected from endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales ( n = 33) and the nearest neighboring population in Bristol Bay ( n = 39) between 2012 and 2018. We examined the sequences using amplicon sequence variant (ASV)-based analyses, and no ASVs were associated with all individuals, indicating a greater degree of epidermal microbiome variability among beluga whales than in previously studied cetacean species and suggesting the absence of a species-specific core microbiome. Epidermal microbiome composition differed significantly between populations and across sampling years. Comparing the microbiomes of Bristol Bay individuals of known health status revealed 11 ASVs associated with potential pathogens that differed in abundance between healthy individuals and those with skin lesions or dermatitis. Molting and non-molting individuals also differed significantly in microbial diversity and the abundance of potential pathogen-associated ASVs, indicating the importance of molting in maintaining skin health. Conclusions We provide novel insights into the dynamics of Alaskan beluga whale epidermal microbial communities. A core epidermal microbiome was not identified across all animals. We characterize microbial dynamics related to population, sampling year and health state including level of skin molting. The results of this study provide a basis for future work to understand the role of the skin microbiome in beluga whale health and to develop health indices for management of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales, and cetaceans more broadly. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska Springer Nature (via Crossref) Animal Microbiome 2 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
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crspringernat |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Background Host-specific microbiomes play an important role in individual health and ecology; in marine mammals, epidermal microbiomes may be a protective barrier between the host and its aqueous environment. Understanding these epidermal-associated microbial communities, and their ecological- or health-driven variability, is the first step toward developing health indices for rapid assessment of individual or population health. In Cook Inlet, Alaska, an endangered population of beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) numbers fewer than 300 animals and continues to decline, despite more than a decade of conservation effort. Characterizing the epidermal microbiome of this species could provide insight into the ecology and health of this endangered population and allow the development of minimally invasive health indicators based on tissue samples. Results We sequenced the hypervariable IV region of bacterial and archaeal SSU rRNA genes from epidermal tissue samples collected from endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales ( n = 33) and the nearest neighboring population in Bristol Bay ( n = 39) between 2012 and 2018. We examined the sequences using amplicon sequence variant (ASV)-based analyses, and no ASVs were associated with all individuals, indicating a greater degree of epidermal microbiome variability among beluga whales than in previously studied cetacean species and suggesting the absence of a species-specific core microbiome. Epidermal microbiome composition differed significantly between populations and across sampling years. Comparing the microbiomes of Bristol Bay individuals of known health status revealed 11 ASVs associated with potential pathogens that differed in abundance between healthy individuals and those with skin lesions or dermatitis. Molting and non-molting individuals also differed significantly in microbial diversity and the abundance of potential pathogen-associated ASVs, indicating the importance of molting in maintaining skin health. Conclusions We provide novel insights into the dynamics of Alaskan beluga whale epidermal microbial communities. A core epidermal microbiome was not identified across all animals. We characterize microbial dynamics related to population, sampling year and health state including level of skin molting. The results of this study provide a basis for future work to understand the role of the skin microbiome in beluga whale health and to develop health indices for management of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales, and cetaceans more broadly. |
author2 |
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Alaska Fisheries Science Center Georgia Aquarium Alaska Department of Fish and Game Shedd Aquarium Mystic Aquarium Alaska Veterinary Pathology Service |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Van Cise, Amy M. Wade, Paul R. Goertz, Caroline E. C. Burek-Huntington, Kathy Parsons, Kim M. Clauss, Tonya Hobbs, Roderick C. Apprill, Amy |
spellingShingle |
Van Cise, Amy M. Wade, Paul R. Goertz, Caroline E. C. Burek-Huntington, Kathy Parsons, Kim M. Clauss, Tonya Hobbs, Roderick C. Apprill, Amy Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
author_facet |
Van Cise, Amy M. Wade, Paul R. Goertz, Caroline E. C. Burek-Huntington, Kathy Parsons, Kim M. Clauss, Tonya Hobbs, Roderick C. Apprill, Amy |
author_sort |
Van Cise, Amy M. |
title |
Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
title_short |
Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
title_full |
Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
title_fullStr |
Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
title_sort |
skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1/fulltext.html |
genre |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska |
op_source |
Animal Microbiome volume 2, issue 1 ISSN 2524-4671 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-020-00057-1 |
container_title |
Animal Microbiome |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766374460757114880 |