Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.

The establishment and early colonisation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has been recognised as a crucial stage in chick development, with pioneering microbial species responsible for influencing the development of the GI tract and influencing host health, fitness and disease status throughout li...

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Main Authors: Meagan L Dewar, John P Y Arnould, Theo R Allnutt, Tamsyn Crowley, Lutz Krause, John Reynolds, Peter Dann, Stuart C Smith
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0183117&type=printable
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author Meagan L Dewar
John P Y Arnould
Theo R Allnutt
Tamsyn Crowley
Lutz Krause
John Reynolds
Peter Dann
Stuart C Smith
author_facet Meagan L Dewar
John P Y Arnould
Theo R Allnutt
Tamsyn Crowley
Lutz Krause
John Reynolds
Peter Dann
Stuart C Smith
author_sort Meagan L Dewar
collection DOAJ
description The establishment and early colonisation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has been recognised as a crucial stage in chick development, with pioneering microbial species responsible for influencing the development of the GI tract and influencing host health, fitness and disease status throughout life. Development of the microbiota in long lived seabirds is poorly understood. This study characterised the microbial composition of little penguin and short-tailed shearwater chicks throughout development, using Quantitative Real Time PCR (qPCR) and 16S rRNA sequencing. The results indicated that microbial development differed between the two seabird species with the short-tailed shearwater microbiota being relatively stable throughout development whilst significant fluctuations in the microbial composition and an upward trend in the abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were observed in the little penguin. When the microbial composition of adults and chicks was compared, both species showed low similarity in microbial composition, indicating that the adult microbiota may have a negligible influence over the chick's microbiota.
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spelling doaj-art-dc43e323cff744e2881675abde30f1632025-08-20T03:04:38ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01128e018311710.1371/journal.pone.0183117Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.Meagan L DewarJohn P Y ArnouldTheo R AllnuttTamsyn CrowleyLutz KrauseJohn ReynoldsPeter DannStuart C SmithThe establishment and early colonisation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has been recognised as a crucial stage in chick development, with pioneering microbial species responsible for influencing the development of the GI tract and influencing host health, fitness and disease status throughout life. Development of the microbiota in long lived seabirds is poorly understood. This study characterised the microbial composition of little penguin and short-tailed shearwater chicks throughout development, using Quantitative Real Time PCR (qPCR) and 16S rRNA sequencing. The results indicated that microbial development differed between the two seabird species with the short-tailed shearwater microbiota being relatively stable throughout development whilst significant fluctuations in the microbial composition and an upward trend in the abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were observed in the little penguin. When the microbial composition of adults and chicks was compared, both species showed low similarity in microbial composition, indicating that the adult microbiota may have a negligible influence over the chick's microbiota.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0183117&type=printable
spellingShingle Meagan L Dewar
John P Y Arnould
Theo R Allnutt
Tamsyn Crowley
Lutz Krause
John Reynolds
Peter Dann
Stuart C Smith
Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.
PLoS ONE
title Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.
title_full Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.
title_fullStr Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.
title_full_unstemmed Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.
title_short Microbiota of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during development.
title_sort microbiota of little penguins and short tailed shearwaters during development
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0183117&type=printable
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