Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review
The gut microbiome of sea turtles is essential for their ecological resilience and adaptation to environmental stressors. We hypothesised that different gut microbial profiles existed between green sea turtles kept in captivity and those in the wild. The aim of this systematic review was to determin...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Dawood Ghafoor Orachun Hayakijkosol Carla Ewels Robert Kinobe |
| author_facet | Dawood Ghafoor Orachun Hayakijkosol Carla Ewels Robert Kinobe |
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| description | The gut microbiome of sea turtles is essential for their ecological resilience and adaptation to environmental stressors. We hypothesised that different gut microbial profiles existed between green sea turtles kept in captivity and those in the wild. The aim of this systematic review was to determine dominant bacterial phyla in the gut microbiomes of wild and captive green sea turtles. Comparison of the top four bacterial phyla revealed that Bacillota was the most abundant phylum in captive turtles (40.9–87.5%), but it only ranked second (3.5–57.8%) in wild turtles. Bacteroidota had comparable relative abundance in captive (8.7–45.6%) and wild (3.6–43.1%) populations. By contrast, the relative abundance of Pseudomonadota was higher in wild turtles (6.2–68.1%) compared to the captive population (0.1–6.6%). Verrucomicrobiota was less prevalent in wild and captive populations, with relative abundances ranging from 0.28 to 5.4% and 2.3 to 7.2%, respectively. These findings highlight a putative gut microbial shift between wild and captive green sea turtle populations. This shift may be shaped by variations in environmental factors in captivity or the wild. Nonetheless, the significance of these putative changes is still unknown; the potential to use microbial shifts to guide management, rehabilitation, and conservation of green sea turtles is promising, but remains limited. |
| format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj-art-dc01ada420d0406d85ab4c240d034e812025-08-20T03:10:54ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-05-011511159410.3390/ani15111594Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic ReviewDawood Ghafoor0Orachun Hayakijkosol1Carla Ewels2Robert Kinobe3Veterinary Preclinical Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaVeterinary Preclinical Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaStatistics and Data Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaVeterinary Preclinical Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaThe gut microbiome of sea turtles is essential for their ecological resilience and adaptation to environmental stressors. We hypothesised that different gut microbial profiles existed between green sea turtles kept in captivity and those in the wild. The aim of this systematic review was to determine dominant bacterial phyla in the gut microbiomes of wild and captive green sea turtles. Comparison of the top four bacterial phyla revealed that Bacillota was the most abundant phylum in captive turtles (40.9–87.5%), but it only ranked second (3.5–57.8%) in wild turtles. Bacteroidota had comparable relative abundance in captive (8.7–45.6%) and wild (3.6–43.1%) populations. By contrast, the relative abundance of Pseudomonadota was higher in wild turtles (6.2–68.1%) compared to the captive population (0.1–6.6%). Verrucomicrobiota was less prevalent in wild and captive populations, with relative abundances ranging from 0.28 to 5.4% and 2.3 to 7.2%, respectively. These findings highlight a putative gut microbial shift between wild and captive green sea turtle populations. This shift may be shaped by variations in environmental factors in captivity or the wild. Nonetheless, the significance of these putative changes is still unknown; the potential to use microbial shifts to guide management, rehabilitation, and conservation of green sea turtles is promising, but remains limited.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1594green sea turtle<i>Chelonia mydas</i>gut microbiomeconservationmicrobial diversitycaptivity |
| spellingShingle | Dawood Ghafoor Orachun Hayakijkosol Carla Ewels Robert Kinobe Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review Animals green sea turtle <i>Chelonia mydas</i> gut microbiome conservation microbial diversity captivity |
| title | Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Characterisation of the Gastrointestinal Microbiome of Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>): A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | characterisation of the gastrointestinal microbiome of green sea turtles i chelonia mydas i a systematic review |
| topic | green sea turtle <i>Chelonia mydas</i> gut microbiome conservation microbial diversity captivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1594 |
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