Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca)
Opportunities to assess odontocete health are restricted due to their limited time at the surface, relatively quick movements and large geographic ranges. For endangered populations such as the southern resident killer whales (SKRWs) of the northeast Pacific Ocean, taking advantage of non-invasive s...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:9041426 2023-05-15T17:53:55+02:00 Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) Rhodes, Linda D Emmons, Candice K Wisswaesser, GabrielS Wells, Abigail H Hanson, M Bradley 2022-04-01 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9041426/ https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac014 en eng Oxford University Press http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9041426/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac014 © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press and the Society for Experimental Biology. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US. PDM Conserv Physiol Research Article Text 2022 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac014 2022-05-01T00:55:14Z Opportunities to assess odontocete health are restricted due to their limited time at the surface, relatively quick movements and large geographic ranges. For endangered populations such as the southern resident killer whales (SKRWs) of the northeast Pacific Ocean, taking advantage of non-invasive samples such as expelled mucus and exhaled breath is appealing. Over the past 12 years, such samples were collected, providing a chance to analyse and assess their bacterial microbiomes using amplicon sequencing. Based on operational taxonomic units, microbiome communities from SRKW and transient killer whales showed little overlap between mucus, breath and seawater from SRKW habitats and six bacterial phyla were prominent in expelled mucus but not in seawater. Mollicutes and Fusobacteria were common and abundant in mucus, but not in breath or seawater, suggesting these bacterial classes may be normal constituents of the SRKW microbiome. Out of 134 bacterial families detected, 24 were unique to breath and mucus, including higher abundances of Burkholderiaceae, Moraxellaceae and Chitinophagaceae. Although there were multiple bacterial genera in breath or mucus that include pathogenic species (e.g. Campylobacter, Hemophilus, Treponema), the presence of these bacteria is not necessarily evidence of disease or infection. Future emphasis on genotyping mucus samples to the individual animal will allow further assessment in the context of that animal’s history, including body condition index and prior contaminants burden. This study is the first to examine expelled mucus from cetaceans for microbiomes and demonstrates the value of analysing these types of non-invasive samples. Text Orca Orcinus orca PubMed Central (PMC) Pacific Conservation Physiology 10 1 |
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Research Article Rhodes, Linda D Emmons, Candice K Wisswaesser, GabrielS Wells, Abigail H Hanson, M Bradley Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
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Research Article |
description |
Opportunities to assess odontocete health are restricted due to their limited time at the surface, relatively quick movements and large geographic ranges. For endangered populations such as the southern resident killer whales (SKRWs) of the northeast Pacific Ocean, taking advantage of non-invasive samples such as expelled mucus and exhaled breath is appealing. Over the past 12 years, such samples were collected, providing a chance to analyse and assess their bacterial microbiomes using amplicon sequencing. Based on operational taxonomic units, microbiome communities from SRKW and transient killer whales showed little overlap between mucus, breath and seawater from SRKW habitats and six bacterial phyla were prominent in expelled mucus but not in seawater. Mollicutes and Fusobacteria were common and abundant in mucus, but not in breath or seawater, suggesting these bacterial classes may be normal constituents of the SRKW microbiome. Out of 134 bacterial families detected, 24 were unique to breath and mucus, including higher abundances of Burkholderiaceae, Moraxellaceae and Chitinophagaceae. Although there were multiple bacterial genera in breath or mucus that include pathogenic species (e.g. Campylobacter, Hemophilus, Treponema), the presence of these bacteria is not necessarily evidence of disease or infection. Future emphasis on genotyping mucus samples to the individual animal will allow further assessment in the context of that animal’s history, including body condition index and prior contaminants burden. This study is the first to examine expelled mucus from cetaceans for microbiomes and demonstrates the value of analysing these types of non-invasive samples. |
format |
Text |
author |
Rhodes, Linda D Emmons, Candice K Wisswaesser, GabrielS Wells, Abigail H Hanson, M Bradley |
author_facet |
Rhodes, Linda D Emmons, Candice K Wisswaesser, GabrielS Wells, Abigail H Hanson, M Bradley |
author_sort |
Rhodes, Linda D |
title |
Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_short |
Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_full |
Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_fullStr |
Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_sort |
bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (orcinus orca) |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9041426/ https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac014 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Orca Orcinus orca |
genre_facet |
Orca Orcinus orca |
op_source |
Conserv Physiol |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9041426/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac014 |
op_rights |
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press and the Society for Experimental Biology. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US. |
op_rightsnorm |
PDM |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac014 |
container_title |
Conservation Physiology |
container_volume |
10 |
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1 |
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1766161620935901184 |