Comparison of wildlife and captivity rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus terrificus) microbiota

Ferreira, Rui Seabra; Siqueira, Amanda Keller; Campagner, Michelle V.; Salerno, Tatiana; Soares, Taíssa Cook Siqueira; Lucheis, Simone Baldini; Paes, Antônio Carlos; Barraviera, Benedito

doi:10.1590/s0100-736x2009001200008

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This finding coincided with our study, except that we found the last three genera on the cloaca not in the mouth. On a study carried out by Ferreira Junior et al (2009) [ 34 ], they indicate the presence of Salmonella enterica and M. morganii in the oral cavity of rattlesnakes, and also Citrobacter freundii was found in the cloaca. In nonvenomous snakes, such as Python regius and Clelia scyntalina, Serratia marcescens, M. morganii, and C. freundii and other species in the oral cavity were identified [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Oral and Cloacal Cavities from Free-Living Snakes Species in Costa Rica Rainforest

Artavia‐León

Romero-Guerrero

Sancho-Blanco

et al. 2017

International Scholarly Research Notices

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Costa Rica has a significant number of snakebites per year and bacterial infections are often complications in these animal bites. Hereby, this study aims to identify, characterize, and report the diversity of the bacterial community in the oral and cloacal cavities of venomous and nonvenomous snakes found in wildlife in Costa Rica. The snakes where captured by casual encounter search between August and November of 2014 in the Quebrada González sector, in Braulio Carrillo National Park. A total of 120 swabs, oral and cloacal, were taken from 16 individuals of the Viperidae and Colubridae families. Samples were cultured on four different media at room temperature. Once isolated in pure culture, colonies were identified with the VITEK® 2C platform (bioMérieux). In order to test the identification provided on environmental isolates, molecular analyses were conducted on 27 isolates of different bacterial species. Specific 16S rDNA PCR-mediated amplification for bacterial taxonomy was performed, then sequenced, and compared with sequences of Ribosomal Database Project (RDP). From 90 bacterial isolates, 40 different bacterial species were identified from both oral and cloacal swabs. These results indicate the diversity of opportunistic pathogens present and their potential to generate infections and zoonosis in humans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Oral and Cloacal Cavities from Free-Living Snakes Species in Costa Rica Rainforest

Artavia‐León

Romero-Guerrero

Sancho-Blanco

et al. 2017

International Scholarly Research Notices

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“…Gram-negative bacteria were predominant with 32.7% belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae (Citrobacter sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca, Morganella morganii, and Serratia marcescens and Serratia sp.). Enterobacteria are one of the most frequent bacterial groups found in snakes, including those of the genus Bothrops, isolated from the cloaca and mouth (Campagner et al 2012;Ferreira Junior et al 2009, 2010. The examination of intestinal microbiota of B. jararaca performed by Bastos et al (2008) also verified the prevalence of enterobacteria, whose most frequent isolates were Salmonella (27.3%), Citrobacter (26.0%), and Escherichia (12.3%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…However, no apparent investigators have thus far explored the bacterial and fungal microbiota of this species. These findings may reveal the influence of microbiota on the health of the snakes, birth and mortality rates, and role as a secondary etiological agent in infections resulting from snakebites (Costello et al 2010;Ferreira Junior et al 2009;Fonseca et al 2009;Paula Neto et al 2005). The aim of this study was to characterize microbiota in B. insularis snakes using molecular identification of aerobic bacteria and fungi isolated from mouth, eyes, and cloaca using a culture-dependent approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis ofBothrops insularisbacterial and fungal microbiota

Barbosa

Ferreira

Mello

et al. 2018

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A

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Bothrops insularis, known as the golden lancehead snake, has its natural habitat restricted to Queimada Grande Island on the southern coast of Brazil. This culture-dependent study aimed to identify microorganisms obtained from the mouth, eyes, and cloaca of this species. Swabs from 20 snakes were collected for fungal and bacterial isolation. DNA was extracted from all samples, and identification was performed by amplifying the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 regions and the 16S rDNA gene, respectively. All strains were identified and deposited in the GenBank nucleotide database. MEGA v6.0 software was utilized to construct phylogenetic trees. In total, 100 strains were isolated and characterized, from which 42 fungi were distributed into 23 species and 58 bacteria into 13 species. The genus Fusarium was predominant since 11 strains and probably a new species was isolated from this fungus. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis were the predominant groups of aerobic bacteria isolated. Phylogenetic analyses between bacterial and fungal sequences suggest a similarity between the microorganisms found on the island and on the continent. These findings may be attributed to anthropic actions resulting from both expeditions to the island and actions of migratory birds, which are the main sources of food for snakes.

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Reptiles as Reservoirs of Bacterial Infections: Real Threat or Methodological Bias?

et al. 2015

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Bacterial infections secondary to snakebites and human pathogens (e.g., Salmonella) have been linked to the oral microbiota of snakes and pet reptiles. Based on culture-dependent studies, it is speculated that snakes' oral microbiota reflects the fecal flora of their ingested preys. However, cultured-based techniques have been shown to be limited as they fail to identify unculturable microorganisms which represent the vast majority of the microbial diversity. Here, we used culture-independent high-throughput sequencing to identify reptile-associated pathogens and to characterize the oral microbial community of five snakes, one gecko, and two terrapins. Few potential human pathogens were detected at extremely low frequencies. Moreover, bacterial taxa represented in the snake's oral cavity bore little resemblance to their preys' fecal microbiota. Overall, we found distinct, highly diverse microbial communities with consistent, species-specific patterns contrary to previous culture-based studies. Our study does not support the widely held assumption that reptiles' oral cavity acts as pathogen reservoir and provides important insights for future research.

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Comparison of wildlife and captivity rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus terrificus) microbiota

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

Diversity of Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Oral and Cloacal Cavities from Free-Living Snakes Species in Costa Rica Rainforest

Diversity of Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Oral and Cloacal Cavities from Free-Living Snakes Species in Costa Rica Rainforest

Molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis ofBothrops insularisbacterial and fungal microbiota

Reptiles as Reservoirs of Bacterial Infections: Real Threat or Methodological Bias?

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