Aerobic bacterial microflora of Broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) oral cavity and cloaca, originating from Parque Zoológico Arruda Câmara, Paraíba, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to isolate and identify the aerobic bacterial microflora from the oral cavity mucosa and cloaca's samples, collected from Broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris), born and bred in captivity at Parque Zoológico Arruda Câmara, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. The most common bacteria were Staphylococcus sp. (14.74%), Corynebacterium sp. (13.68%), Escherichia coli (13.68%) and Shigella sp. (11.58%), and the less common were Citrobacter sp. (1.05%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (1.05%) and Salmonella sp. (1.05%).This emphasizes the importance of these microorganisms' participation in infectious processes (sepsis) and injuries caused by crocodilians.

Microbiota bacteriana de ovos de jacaré-do-pantanal incubados naturalmente

“…Esse padrão de diversidade bacteriana é semelhante ao registrado na microbiota cloacal de répteis, descrito na literatura de forma genérica (Zancolli et al, 2015) ou de acordo com táxon específico, como em cascavéis (Ferreira Júnior et al, 2009); lagartos comuns (White et al, 2011);jabutispiranga (Benites et al, 2013) e tartarugas-doouvido-vermelho (Chiacchio et al, 2014 Entre as bactérias isoladas da superfície de ovos de C. yacare, 17/22 (77,27%) já foram identificadas (Tab. 1) como integrantes da microbiota intestinal/cloacal e/ou oral de crocodilianos (Huchzermeyer et al, 2000;Lovely e Leslie, 2008;Johnston et al, 2010;Silva et al, 2009;Charruau et al, 2012). A maior ocorrência de espécies da família Arq.…”

“…Em ovos com irregularidade na formação da casca calcária (Fernández et al, 2013), a contaminação durante esse processo é considerada a principal causa de morte embrionária. As bactérias isoladas da casca de ovos de crocodilianos de cativeiro ou em ovos não eclodidos, cujo conteúdo estava contaminado (Peuker et al, 2005), também foram descritas na microbiota cloacal de crocodilianos (Huchzermeyer et al, 2000;Lovely e Leslie, 2008;Silva et al, 2009;Johnston et al, 2010). Essa microbiota cloacal pode estar ligada a microrganismos presentes no sistema digestório (Ferreira Júnior et al, 2009;White et al, 2011;Benites et al, 2013;Chiacchio et al, 2014) e, assim como a microbiota ambiental, pode não só comprometer o desenvolvimento do ovo, mas também desencadear alterações clínicas em crocodilianos (Huchzermeyer, 2003;Paré et al, 2006;Yoon-Seok et al, 2011;Oliveira et al, 2015).…”

Oral and cloacal microflora of wild crocodiles Crocodylus acutus and C. moreletii in the Mexican Caribbean

“…The genera Aeromonas, Citrobacter, Corynebacterium, Enterococcus, Escherichia, Fusobacterium, Klebsiella, Moraxella, Pasteurella, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Serratia, Shigella, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus have been already identified in the oral cavity of crocodilians (Doering et al 1971, Gorden et al 1979, Flandry et al 1989, Anderson 1999, Cupul-Magaña et al 2005, Silva et al 2009 (White et al 1973, Madsen et al 1998, Anderson 1999, Lovely & Leslie 2008, Johnston et al 2010). To our knowledge, this is the first report of the genera Alcaligenes and Rhodococcus in the cloaca.…”

“…Several studies display the existence of many bacteria and fungi in the oral cavity of wild and captive crocodilians (Doering et al 1971, Gorden et al 1979, Flandry et al 1989, Matushima & Ramos 1995, Anderson 1999, Cupul-Magaña et al 2005, Silva et al 2009). While several antibiotics provide protection from wound infections, in some cases patients can die from sepsis (Vanwersch 1998, Caldicott et al 2005.…”

“…However, the press articles do not present information about infection and bacteria involved. The genera Aeromonas, Citrobacter, Corynebacterium, Enterococcus, Escherichia, Fusobacterium, Klebsiella, Moraxella, Pasteurella, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Serratia, Shigella, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus have been already identified in the oral cavity of crocodilians (Doering et al 1971, Gorden et al 1979, Flandry et al 1989, Anderson 1999, Cupul-Magaña et al 2005, Silva et al 2009 Crocodilians are very resistant to disease with a great capacity for healing, principally owing to their high level of serum antimicrobial activity (Merchant & Britton 2006. Huchzermeyer (2003) report that few bacteria cause specific diseases in crocodiles and even fewer are crocodilespecific, but many bacteria can cause non-specific septicemia.…”