The Intestinal Mycobiota in Wild Zebrafish Comprises Mainly Dothideomycetes While Saccharomycetes Predominate in Their Laboratory-Reared Counterparts

• Published in: Frontiers in Microbiology
• Main Authors: Prabhugouda, Siriyappagouder, Kiron, Viswanath, Lokesh, Jep, Rajeish, Moger, Kopp, Martina Elisabeth Luise, Fernandes, Jorge Manuel de Oliveira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media 2018
• Subjects: VDP::Landbruks- og Fiskerifag: 900::Fiskerifag: 920; Bodø; Norway
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2489889; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00387

As an integral part of the resident microbial community of fish intestinal tract, the mycobiota is expected to play important roles in health and disease resistance of the host. The composition of the diverse fungal communities, which colonize the intestine, is greatly influenced by the host, their diet and geographic origin. Studies of fungal communities are rare and majority of previous research have relied on culture-based methods. In particular, fungal communities in fish are also poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to provide an in-depth overview of the intestinal mycobiota in a model fish species (zebrafish, Danio rerio) and to determine differences in fungal composition between wild and captive specimens. We have profiled the intestinal mycobiota of wild-caught (Sharavati river, India), laboratory-reared (Bodø, Norway) and wild-caught-laboratory-kept (Uttara, India) zebrafish by sequencing the fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 region on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Wild fish were exposed to variable environmental factors, whereas both laboratory groups were kept in controlled conditions. There were also differences in husbandry practice between Bodø and Uttara, particularly diet, and zebrafish from Bodø were reared in the laboratory for over 10 generations, while wild-caught-laboratory-kept fish from Uttara were housed in the laboratory for only two months before sample collection. The intestine of zebrafish contained members of more than 15 fungal classes belonging to the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Zygomycota. Fungal species richness and diversity distinguished the wild-caught and laboratory-reared zebrafish communities. Wild-caught zebrafish-associated mycobiota comprised mainly Dothideomycetes in contrast to their Saccharomycetes-dominated laboratory-reared counterparts. The predominant Saccharomycetes in laboratory-reared fish belonged to the saprotrophic guild. Another characteristic feature of laboratory-reared fish was the significantly higher abundance of Cryptococcus ...