Distribution of Bacteria on Feathers of Some Eastern North American Birds

Muza, Michelle M.; Burtt, Edward H.; Ichida, Jann M.

doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0432:dobofo]2.0.co;2

Cited by 41 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Previous studies showed that Bacillus species were frequent members of the plumage microbial community of birds [8,41,59], of which many demonstrated feather-degrading properties [61]. However, these findings were based solely on culture-dependent assays.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Study sites in second growth scrub contained trees ranging from 2 to 5 cm in diameter at breast height and 2-8 m in height forming a dense understory and ground layer of vegetation. The temperate breeding site was located in the Patuxent River Park (38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45) 0 N, 76-42 0 W) in Maryland, USA. Birds were captured in two different 5-ha plots that were located 1800 m apart.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Molecular Comparison of Plumage and Soil Bacteria Across Biogeographic, Ecological, and Taxonomic Scales

et al. 2007

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We used molecular methods to determine the microbial community of soil and avian plumage across biogeographic, ecological, and taxonomic scales. A total of 17 soil and 116 feather samples were collected from five avian species across multiple habitat types within one Neotropical and one temperate locality. Hypotheses regarding patterns of microbial composition relative to acquisition and dispersal of plumage bacteria in the ecosystem were tested by comparing microbial communities within and between soil and plumage. Samples from the plumage of American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) were collected across both habitat types and geographic scales for intraspecific comparisons. The microbial diversity in avian plumage was moderately diverse and was dominated by Pseudomonas species. Despite a highly significant individual bird effect on microbial composition of the plumage, we detected significant biogeographic and type of habitat effects. Pseudomonas species were more abundant on the temperate site when all avian species were included in the analysis, and Bacillus subtilis and Xanthomonas groups were more abundant on the Neotropical site for redstarts alone. However, 16S rDNA sequence libraries were not significantly different between Jamaican and Maryland redstarts. Biogeographic and habitat effects were significant and more pronounced for soil samples indicating lower dispersal of soil microbiota. We detected a significant difference between soil and plumage microbial communities suggesting that soil plays a small role in plumage bacterial acquisition. Our results suggest bacterial communities on the plumage of birds are dynamic and may change at different stages in a bird_s annual cycle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Molecular Comparison of Plumage and Soil Bacteria Across Biogeographic, Ecological, and Taxonomic Scales

et al. 2007

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“…Most studies of feather bacteria have focused on the genus Bacillus [6,19], because strains of B. licheniformis, B. pumilus, and B. megaterium have been shown to have significant keratinolytic activity in vitro. Bacillus spp.…”

Section: MD Shawkey Et Al: Microbial Diversity Of Bird Feathersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Diversity of Wild Bird Feathers Revealed throughCulture-Based and Culture-Independent Techniques

et al. 2005

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Despite recent interest in the interactions between birds and environmental microbes, the identities of the bacteria that inhabit the feathers of wild birds remain largely unknown. We used culture-based and culture-independent surveys of the feathers of eastern bluebirds (Sialis sialis) to examine bacterial flora. When used to analyze feathers taken from the same birds, the two survey techniques produced different results. Species of the poorly defined genus Pseudomonas were most common in the molecular survey, whereas species of the genus Bacillus were predominant in the culture-based survey. This difference may have been caused by biases in both the culture and polymerase chain reaction techniques that we used. The pooled results from both techniques indicate that the overall community is diverse and composed largely of members of the Firmicutes and b-and c-subdivisions of the Proteobacteria. For the most part, bacterial sequences isolated from birds were closely related to sequences of soil-borne and water-borne bacteria in the GenBank database, suggesting that birds may have acquired many of these bacteria from the environment. However, the metabolic properties and optimal growth requirements of several isolates suggest that some of the bacteria may have a specialized association with feathers.

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“…Plumage can be damaged by ectoparasites such as lice (Clayton, 1991;Kose and Møller, 1999) or microorganisms (e.g. Muza et al, 2000;Decostere et al, 2003) and so any mechanisms that reduce degradation would be of great selective advantage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feather-consuming organisms are therefore able either to digest keratin through the secretion of keratinases (Muza et al, 2000) or otherwise grow directly on feathers (Lucas et al, 2003;Grande et al, 2004) and affect the bird's fitness by, for instance, altering sexually selected colours (Shawkey et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbiotic bacteria living in the hoopoe's uropygial gland prevent feather degradation

Ruiz‐Rodríguez

Valdivia

Soler

et al. 2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYAmong potential agents that might damage bird feathers are certain microorganisms which secrete enzymes that digest keratin, as is the case of the ubiquitous bacterium Bacillus licheniformis, present in both the feathers and skin of wild birds. It is therefore a good candidate for testing the effects of bird defences against feather-degrading microorganisms. One of these defences is the oil secreted by the uropygial gland, which birds use to protect their feathers against parasites. In previous studies we have shown how Enterococcus faecalis strains isolated from nestling hoopoes exert antagonistic effects against B. licheniformis, mediated by the production of bacteriocins. Consequently we hypothesized that this enterococcus and the bacteriocins it engenders might act as a defence against feather-degrading microorganisms in hoopoes. We investigated this hypothesis in a series of laboratory experiments and evaluated the extent to which the keratinolytic effects caused by B. licheniformis were reduced by the E. faecalis MRR10-3 strain, isolated from hoopoes, and its bacteriocins. In different treatments, feathers or pure keratin was incubated with B. licheniformis, B. licheniformis together with E. faecalis MRR10-3, and B. licheniformis together with the bacteriocins produced by E. faecalis MRR10-3. Our results were in accordance with the predicted effects on hoopoe feathers. There was a significant decrease both in pure keratin loss and in feather degradation in the presence of the symbiotic bacterium or its bacteriocin. These results suggest that by preening their feathers hoopoes benefit from their symbiotic relationship with bacteriocin-producing enterococci, which constitute a chemical defence against feather degradation.

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Distribution of Bacteria on Feathers of Some Eastern North American Birds

Cited by 41 publications

References 8 publications

A Molecular Comparison of Plumage and Soil Bacteria Across Biogeographic, Ecological, and Taxonomic Scales

A Molecular Comparison of Plumage and Soil Bacteria Across Biogeographic, Ecological, and Taxonomic Scales

Microbial Diversity of Wild Bird Feathers Revealed throughCulture-Based and Culture-Independent Techniques

Symbiotic bacteria living in the hoopoe's uropygial gland prevent feather degradation

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