Cultivable Bacterial Microbiota of Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus): A New Reservoir of Antimicrobial Resistance?

Abstract

The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is an ecologically and economically important avian species. At the present time, little is known about the microbial communities associated with these birds. As the first step to create a quail microbiology knowledge base, the current study conducted an inventory of cultivable quail tracheal, crop, cecal, and cloacal microbiota and associated antimicrobial resistance using a combined bacteriology and DNA sequencing approach. A total of 414 morphologically unique bacterial colonies were selected from nonselective aerobic and anaerobic cultures, as well as selective and enrichment cultures. Analysis of the first 500-bp 16S rRNA gene sequences in conjunction with biochemical identifications revealed 190 non-redundant species-level taxonomic units, representing 160 known bacterial species and 30 novel species. The bacterial species were classified into 4 phyla, 14 orders, 37 families, and 59 or more genera. Firmicutes was the most commonly encountered phylum (57%) followed by Actinobacteria (24%), Proteobacteria (17%) and Bacteroidetes (0.02%). Extensive diversity in the species composition of quail microbiota was observed among individual birds and anatomical locations. Quail microbiota harbored several opportunistic pathogens, such as E. coli and Ps. aeruginosa, as well as human commensal organisms, including Neisseria species. Phenotypic characterization of selected bacterial species demonstrated a high prevalence of resistance to the following classes of antimicrobials: phenicol, macrolide, lincosamide, quinolone, and sulphate. Data from the current investigation warrant further investigation on the source, transmission, pathology, and control of antimicrobial resistance in wild quail populations.

The avian gut microbiota: community, physiology and function in wild birds

“…In Japanese quail, cecal microbiota were relatively stable during fasting (Kohl et al 2014), with the exception of an increase in Verrucomicrobia and slight decrease in Bacteroidetes. Cecal microbiota of the northern bobwhites Colinus virginianus were dominated in abundance by Firmicutes, followed by Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria (Su et al 2014), and these microbial profiles differed substantially from the microbiota of Japanese quail and capercaillie (Fig. 3).…”

“…Males and females differ in reproductive physiology and behavior, which may manifest as different gut microbial profiles. Male and female northern bobwhites differed in three of the eight most common bacterial genera: Enterococcus, Rothia and Streptococcus (Su et al 2014). Interactions between sex hormones and the human gut microbiota are well known (summarized in Neuman et al 2015), but little information is available for birds.…”

Non-pathogenic Neisseria: members of an abundant, multi-habitat, diverse genus

“…In addition to waterfowls and penguins, Neisseria has been identified in ground-dwelling birds such as northern bobwhites (Su et al, 2014). N. flavescens was isolated from the caecumwhile N. flavescens, N. Sicca and N. meningitidis (based on 16S rRNA sequencing of individual colonies) from the cloaca in bobwhites.…”

Differentiation of Corynebacterium uropygiale strains from Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo)

“…In a previous study, we characterized the intestinal and respiratory microbiota of wild-caught bobwhite and collected a number of isolates that exhibited morphological and biochemical characteristics of genus Corynebacterium [17].…”