Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals
Comparative studies of microbial communities occupying different body sites in wild vertebrates are scarce, but they are crucial for advancing our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping animal microbiomes. We therefore used a natural experiment comprising mother-offspring p...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1603500/full |
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| author | Petroula Botsidou Petroula Botsidou Michael Schloter Michael Schloter Öncü Maraci Silvia Gschwendtner Rebecca Nagel Rebecca Nagel Jaume Forcada Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman |
| author_facet | Petroula Botsidou Petroula Botsidou Michael Schloter Michael Schloter Öncü Maraci Silvia Gschwendtner Rebecca Nagel Rebecca Nagel Jaume Forcada Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman |
| author_sort | Petroula Botsidou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Comparative studies of microbial communities occupying different body sites in wild vertebrates are scarce, but they are crucial for advancing our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping animal microbiomes. We therefore used a natural experiment comprising mother-offspring pairs from two adjacent Antarctic fur seal breeding colonies that differ in social density to investigate differences between skin and gut microbial communities in relation to host-specific and environmental factors. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we uncovered a strong influence of colony on the diversity and composition of skin but not gut microbial communities. Specifically, we observed a suppressive effect of high social density on skin microbial alpha diversity as well as an overabundance of phyla associated with diseases and bite wounds in the high-density colony. Our findings suggest that skin microbial communities may be more sensitive to external factors, whereas gut communities are more tightly regulated by the host. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering multiple body sites and their distinct microbial communities to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping microbial diversity and composition in marine mammals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-38e3ad76acea4b29b2c3bfde91f81ad2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-38e3ad76acea4b29b2c3bfde91f81ad22025-08-20T02:37:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-07-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.16035001603500Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur sealsPetroula Botsidou0Petroula Botsidou1Michael Schloter2Michael Schloter3Öncü Maraci4Silvia Gschwendtner5Rebecca Nagel6Rebecca Nagel7Jaume Forcada8Joseph I. Hoffman9Joseph I. Hoffman10Joseph I. Hoffman11Joseph I. Hoffman12Department of Evolutionary Population Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, GermanyResearch Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, GermanyResearch Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, GermanyChair for Environmental Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, GermanyDepartment of Behavioural Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, GermanyResearch Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, GermanyDepartment of Evolutionary Population Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, GermanyCentre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United KingdomBritish Antarctic Survey, UKRI-NERC, Cambridge, United KingdomDepartment of Evolutionary Population Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, GermanyBritish Antarctic Survey, UKRI-NERC, Cambridge, United KingdomCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyJoint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment (JICE), Bielefeld University and University of Münster, Bielefeld, GermanyComparative studies of microbial communities occupying different body sites in wild vertebrates are scarce, but they are crucial for advancing our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping animal microbiomes. We therefore used a natural experiment comprising mother-offspring pairs from two adjacent Antarctic fur seal breeding colonies that differ in social density to investigate differences between skin and gut microbial communities in relation to host-specific and environmental factors. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we uncovered a strong influence of colony on the diversity and composition of skin but not gut microbial communities. Specifically, we observed a suppressive effect of high social density on skin microbial alpha diversity as well as an overabundance of phyla associated with diseases and bite wounds in the high-density colony. Our findings suggest that skin microbial communities may be more sensitive to external factors, whereas gut communities are more tightly regulated by the host. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering multiple body sites and their distinct microbial communities to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping microbial diversity and composition in marine mammals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1603500/fullskin microbiomegut microbiomesocial densityAntarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella)pinniped |
| spellingShingle | Petroula Botsidou Petroula Botsidou Michael Schloter Michael Schloter Öncü Maraci Silvia Gschwendtner Rebecca Nagel Rebecca Nagel Jaume Forcada Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Joseph I. Hoffman Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals Frontiers in Microbiology skin microbiome gut microbiome social density Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) pinniped |
| title | Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals |
| title_full | Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals |
| title_fullStr | Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals |
| title_short | Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals |
| title_sort | skin but not gut microbial communities vary with social density in antarctic fur seals |
| topic | skin microbiome gut microbiome social density Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) pinniped |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1603500/full |
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