Bacterial Communities Associated with Junco Preen Glands: Preliminary Ramifications for Chemical Signaling

Whittaker, Danielle J.; Theis, Kevin R.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22026-0_8

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This oil also contains volatile compounds that can communicate information about the individual's species identity , sex (Soini et al, 2007;Whittaker et al, 2010), age (Shaw et al, 2011), and breeding condition (Whittaker et al, 2011), and that can even be predictive of an individual's reproductive success . Recently, we demonstrated that the darkeyed junco's uropygial gland harbors a diverse and rich bacterial community, and that several of the bacterial genera identified are known to produce volatile compounds present in junco preen oil (Whittaker and Theis, 2016). To our knowledge, no study has yet demonstrated that symbiotic bacteria produce avian chemical signals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Although this hypothesis has been increasingly investigated in scent-marking mammals (Zomer et al, 2009;Sin et al, 2012;Theis et al, 2013;Leclaire et al, 2014), it has received less attention with respect to chemical signaling in birds (Whittaker and Theis, 2016). If symbiotic microbes contribute to their hosts' odor profiles, then host organs emitting the odors should be populated by communities of odor-producing microbes, and the microbial and volatile odor profiles of the organs should covary.…”

Section: Covariation Of Microbial and Volatile Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In total, we sampled 9 adult females, 8 adult males (one nest was not attended by an adult male), and 27 nestlings from 9 nests (range: 2-4 nestlings/nest) at MLBS (Figure 1). This study builds upon a preliminary study in which we characterized the uropygial gland microbiota of adult juncos from 13 nests (Whittaker and Theis, 2016). Here we additionally include data from junco nestlings and data on the cloacal microbiota, uropygial gland volatile profiles, and paternity.…”

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If symbiotic microbes contribute to their hosts' odor profiles, then host organs emitting the odors should be populated by communities of odor-producing microbes, and the microbial and volatile odor profiles of the organs should covary. We previously illustrated that the uropygial glands of adult darkeyed juncos support bacterial communities that include genera (e.g., Burkholderia, Pseudomonas) known to produce many of the volatile compounds in preen oil (Whittaker and Theis, 2016), including two compounds, 2-tridecanone and 2-pentadecanone, with sex-specific relationships to reproductive success in this species . However, here we have additionally considered the cloacal microbiota, and found that the bacterial communities populating the uropygial gland are a subset of the communities inhabiting the cloaca.…”

Section: Covariation Of Microbial and Volatile Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Social Environment Has a Primary Influence on the Microbial and Odor Profiles of a Chemically Signaling Songbird

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chemical signaling is an underappreciated means of communication among birds, as may be the potential contributions of symbiotic microbes to animal chemical communication in general. The dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) produces and detects volatile compounds that may be important in reproductive behavior. These compounds are found in preen oil secreted by the uropygial gland, and this gland supports diverse bacterial communities including genera known to produce some of these volatile compounds. We investigated the relative contributions of shared environments and genetic relatedness in shaping juncos' symbiotic bacterial communities, and investigated whether these bacterial communities underlie juncos' chemical signaling behavior. We sampled parents and nestlings at 9 junco nests during one breeding season at Mountain Lake Biological Station in Virginia, USA. From each individual, we collected swabs of the uropygial gland and the cloaca, preen oil, and a small blood sample for paternity testing. We characterized junco bacterial communities through 16S rRNA gene surveys and preen oil volatile compounds via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Nest membership and age class had the strongest influence on the structure of bacterial and volatile profiles. We compared father-offspring similarity based on paternity, and nestling similarity in nests containing full siblings and half siblings, and found that relatedness did not noticeably affect bacterial or volatile profiles. While we cannot rule out an influence of genetic relatedness on these profiles, it is clear that shared environments are more influential in shaping bacterial and volatile profiles among juncos. We did not find significant covariation between individual bacterial and volatile profiles. Possible explanations for this result include: (1) bacteria do not underlie volatile production; (2) ample redundancy in volatile production among bacterial types obscures covariation; or (3) the relationship is confounded by the fact that, unlike glands exclusively dedicated to chemical communication, uropygial glands have multiple functions, and symbiotic Whittaker et al.Junco Microbial and Odor Profiles bacteria are hypothesized to contribute to each of these. Therefore, different bacteria may contribute to different phenotypes of the avian holobiont. Future work will include cultivation, metabolomic, genomic, and behavioral assay approaches to tease these scenarios apart.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Covariation Of Microbial and Volatile Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Covariation Of Microbial and Volatile Profilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Social Environment Has a Primary Influence on the Microbial and Odor Profiles of a Chemically Signaling Songbird

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To prevent large peaks from disproportionately influencing distance measures [18], we normalized data using the deconstand function in the R package VEGAN [32]. We generated matrices of standardized Bray-Curtis dissimilarity based on chemical distances between all same-sex (male -male, 41 [34]), run with 10 000 permutations.…”

Section: (C) Chemical Analysis Of Preen Waxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical composition of preen wax reflects major histocompatibility complex similarity in songbirds

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In jawed vertebrates, genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a key role in immunity by encoding cell-surface proteins that recognize and bind non-self antigens. High variability at MHC suggests that these loci may also function in social signalling such as mate choice and kin recognition. This requires that MHC genotype covaries with some perceptible phenotypic trait. In mammals and fish, MHC is signalled chemically through volatile and non-volatile peptide odour cues, facilitating MHC-dependent mate choice and other behaviours. In birds, despite evidence for MHC-dependent mating, candidate mechanisms for MHC signalling remain largely unexplored. However, feather preen wax has recently been implicated as a potential source of odour cues. We examined whether the chemical composition of preen wax correlates with MHC class IIβ genotypes of wild song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Pairwise chemical distance reflected amino acid distance at MHC for male-female dyads, although not for same-sex dyads. Chemical diversity did not reflect MHC diversity. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to characterize preen wax compounds, and identified four wax esters that best reflect MHC similarity. Provided songbirds can detect variation in preen wax composition, this cue may allow individuals to assess MHC compatibility of potential mates.

show abstract

Microbial DNA extraction method for avian feces and preen oil from diverse species

Russell,

Kenna,

Huynh

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As DNA sequencing technology continues to rapidly improve, studies investigating the microbial communities of host organisms (i.e., microbiota) are becoming not only more popular but also more financially accessible. Across many taxa, microbiomes can have important impacts on organismal health and fitness. To evaluate the microbial community composition of a particular microbiome, microbial DNA must be successfully extracted. Fecal samples are often easy to collect and are a good source of gut microbial DNA. Additionally, interest in the avian preen gland microbiome is rapidly growing, due to the importance of preen oil for many aspects of avian life. Microbial DNA extractions from avian fecal and preen oil samples present multiple challenges, however. Here, we describe a modified PrepMan Ultra Sample Preparation Reagent microbial DNA extraction method that is less expensive than other commonly used methodologies and is highly effective for both fecal and preen oil samples collected from a broad range of avian species. We expect our method will facilitate microbial DNA extractions from multiple avian microbiome reservoirs, which have previously proved difficult and expensive. Our method therefore increases the feasibility of future studies of avian host microbiomes.

show abstract

Bacterial Communities Associated with Junco Preen Glands: Preliminary Ramifications for Chemical Signaling

Cited by 23 publications

References 66 publications

Social Environment Has a Primary Influence on the Microbial and Odor Profiles of a Chemically Signaling Songbird

Social Environment Has a Primary Influence on the Microbial and Odor Profiles of a Chemically Signaling Songbird

Chemical composition of preen wax reflects major histocompatibility complex similarity in songbirds

Microbial DNA extraction method for avian feces and preen oil from diverse species

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About