Symbiotic bacteria contribute to innate immune defenses of the threatened mountain yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa

Woodhams, Douglas C.; Vredenburg, Vance T.; Simon, Mary Alice; Billheimer, Dean; Shakhtour, Bashar; Shyr, Yu; Briggs, Cheryl J.; Rollins‐Smith, Louise A.; Harris, Reid N.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.05.004

Cited by 214 publications

(278 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Also, the fact that the larvae of H. scutatum complete their development in the water in contrast to P. cinereus salamanders that are completely terrestrial likely influences the diversity of resident cutaneous bacteria. The presence of cutaneous bacteria that produce antifungal metabolites was found in three plethodontid salamanders (Austin, 2000;Lauer et al, 2007; the present study) and in two other amphibian species (Centrolene prosoblepon and Rana muscosa) (unpublished data; Woodhams et al, 2007).…”

Section: Antifungal Cutaneous Bacteria From Salamanderssupporting

confidence: 58%

“…Living in moist or aquatic environments, amphibians are exposed to microorganisms through contact with soil, water, plants and each other. Indeed, amphibian skin hosts a diverse microbiota that reflects a subset of the microbiota from their habitat (Austin, 2000;Culp et al, 2007;Lauer et al, 2007;Woodhams et al, 2007). In this study, we compare culture and culture-independent assays of the cutaneous microbiota of three populations of the plethodontid salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In previous work, antifungal bacterial species have been isolated and identified from the skin of the salamanders Salamandra salamandra (Bettin and Greven, 1986), Plethodon ventralis (Austin, 2000;Culp et al, 2007) and Plethodon cinereus (Harris et al, 2006;Lauer et al, 2007), as well as from the frog species Rana muscosa (Woodhams et al, 2007). Some antifungal bacteria or their metabolites are used in marine and freshwater aquaculture to reduce the susceptibility of the animals toward microbial pathogens including fungi (Gil-Turnes and Fenical, 1992;Verschuere et al, 2000;Irianto and Austin, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

et al. 2007

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Among the microbiota of amphibian skin are bacteria that produce antifungal compounds. We isolated cutaneous bacteria from the skins of three populations of the nest-attending plethodontid salamander Hemidactylium scutatum and subsequently tested the bacterial isolates against two different fungi (related to Mariannaea elegans and Rhizomucor variabilis) that were obtained from dead salamander eggs. The culturable antifungal bacteria were phylogenetically characterized based on 16S rRNA phylogeny, and belonged to four phyla, comprising 14 bacterial families, 16 genera and 48 species. We found that about half of the antifungal bacterial genera and families were shared with a related salamander species, but there was virtually no overlap at the species level. The proportion of culturable antifungal bacterial taxa shared between two large populations of H. scutatum was the same as the proportion of taxa shared between H. scutatum and Plethodon cinereus, suggesting that populations within a species have unique antifungal bacterial species. Approximately 30% of individuals from both salamander species carried anti-M. elegans cutaneous bacteria and almost 90% of P. cinereus and 100% of H. scutatum salamanders carried anti-R. variabilis cutaneous bacteria. A culture independent method (PCR/DGGE) revealed a shared resident bacterial community of about 25% of the entire resident bacterial community within and among populations of H. scutatum. Thus, the culturable antifungal microbiota was far more variable on salamander skins than was the bacterial microbiota detected by PCR/DGGE. The resident cutaneous antifungal bacteria may play an important role in amphibians' innate defense against pathogens, including the lethal chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.

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Section: Antifungal Cutaneous Bacteria From Salamanderssupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

et al. 2007

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“…Susceptibility to B. dendrobatis infection varies among amphibian species, and even within species some populations can coexist with B. dendrobatis whereas others decline to extinction. These differences in disease susceptibility have been correlated with the diversity of antifungal bacteria associated with a given frog population (Woodhams et al, 2007). Interestingly, Curvibacter species are also associated with a variety of amphibian species (McKenzie et al, 2012;Loudon et al, 2013), but…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacteria–bacteria interactions within the microbiota of the ancestral metazoan Hydra contribute to fungal resistance

et al. 2014

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Epithelial surfaces of most animals are colonized by diverse microbial communities. Although it is generally agreed that commensal bacteria can serve beneficial functions, the processes involved are poorly understood. Here we report that in the basal metazoan Hydra, ectodermal epithelial cells are covered with a multilayered glycocalyx that provides a habitat for a distinctive microbial community. Removing this epithelial microbiota results in lethal infection by the filamentous fungus Fusarium sp. Restoring the complex microbiota in gnotobiotic polyps prevents pathogen infection. Although mono-associations with distinct members of the microbiota fail to provide full protection, additive and synergistic interactions of commensal bacteria are contributing to full fungal resistance. Our results highlight the importance of resident microbiota diversity as a protective factor against pathogen infections. Besides revealing insights into the in vivo function of commensal microbes in Hydra, our findings indicate that interactions among commensal bacteria are essential to inhibit pathogen infection.

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“…One explanation for such low potency is the hypothesis that cutaneous symbiotic bacteria may provide the major defense system against pathogens in the habitats of certain frog species [20,21]. In these species, natural selection may have attenuated the potency so that symbiotic cutaneous microbes are able to survive in the antibacterial skin secretions [22,23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host defense peptides in skin secretions of Odorrana tiannanensis: Proof for other survival strategy of the frog than merely anti-microbial

Feng

Huang

et al. 2012

Biochimie

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Symbiotic bacteria contribute to innate immune defenses of the threatened mountain yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa

Cited by 214 publications

References 28 publications

Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

Diversity of cutaneous bacteria with antifungal activity isolated from female four-toed salamanders

Bacteria–bacteria interactions within the microbiota of the ancestral metazoan Hydra contribute to fungal resistance

Host defense peptides in skin secretions of Odorrana tiannanensis: Proof for other survival strategy of the frog than merely anti-microbial

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