Community Structure and Function of Amphibian Skin Microbes: An Experiment with Bullfrogs Exposed to a Chytrid Fungus

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 7;10(10):e0139848. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139848. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The vertebrate microbiome contributes to disease resistance, but few experiments have examined the link between microbiome community structure and disease resistance functions. Chytridiomycosis, a major cause of amphibian population declines, is a skin disease caused by the fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). In a factorial experiment, bullfrog skin microbiota was reduced with antibiotics, augmented with an anti-Bd bacterial isolate (Janthinobacterium lividum), or unmanipulated, and individuals were then either exposed or not exposed to Bd. We found that the microbial community structure of individual frogs prior to Bd exposure influenced Bd infection intensity one week following exposure, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with proportional growth during the experiment. Microbial community structure and function differed among unmanipulated, antibiotic-treated, and augmented frogs only when frogs were exposed to Bd. Bd is a selective force on microbial community structure and function, and beneficial states of microbial community structure may serve to limit the impacts of infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Base Sequence
  • Chytridiomycota / drug effects
  • Chytridiomycota / isolation & purification
  • Chytridiomycota / physiology*
  • Dermatomycoses / etiology
  • Dermatomycoses / microbiology*
  • Dermatomycoses / veterinary
  • Microbiota / drug effects
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / chemistry
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / metabolism
  • Rana catesbeiana / growth & development
  • Rana catesbeiana / metabolism*
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Skin / microbiology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Virginia Tech Fralin Life Science Institute and the National Science Foundation (DEB-1136640 and CHE-0958973). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.