Diversity of cloacal microbial community in migratory shorebirds that use the Tagus estuary as stopover habitat and their potential to harbor and disperse pathogenic microorganisms

• Published in: FEMS microbiology ecology Vol. 82; no. 1; pp. 63 - 74
• Main Authors: Santos, Susana S., Pardal, Sara, Proença, Diogo N., Lopes, Ricardo J., Ramos, Jaime A., Mendes, Luísa, Morais, Paula V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2012; Blackwell; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: 16S rRNA; Actinobacteria; Animal Migration; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Aves; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; bacterial diversity; Biological and medical sciences; Birds; Birds - microbiology; Brackish; Cloaca - microbiology; Corynebacterium; Culture Media; Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Ecology; Ecosystem; Estuaries; estuarine habitat; Firmicutes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes; Helicobacter; Himantopus himantopus; Limosa limosa; Metagenome; Microbial ecology; Microbiology; pathogenic bacteria; Phylogeny; Portugal; Proteobacteria; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; shorebirds; Staphylococcus; Tringa totanus; Various environments (extraatmospheric space, air, water); Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Portugal; ANE, Portugal; ANE, Portugal, Tejo Estuary; bacterial diversity; pathogenic bacteria; denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling; 16S rRNA; estuarine habitat; shorebirds; Brackish water environment; Stopover site; Estuaries; Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis; Animal migration; Biodiversity; Species diversity; Vertebrata; Migratory; Pathogenic; 16S-RNA; Bacteria; Habitat; Microorganism; Aves; Microbial community
• ISSN: 0168-6496; 1574-6941
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2012.01407.x

Abstract The diversity of the cloacal microbial community in migratory shorebirds, caught at the Tagus estuary, Portugal, was assessed by cultivation (R2A and Nutrient Agar media) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling (DGGE) to provide a better understanding of the birds’ potential to harbor and disperse pathogens. Three different bird species belonging to four different populations were studied: common redshank (Tringa totanus), black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus) and nominate and Icelandic populations of black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa). DGGE profiling and partial 16S RNA gene sequences of 240 isolates, and 26 DGGE bands resulting in 58 clones, were analyzed. Most isolates were members of the phylum Firmicutes and Actinobacteria and only a small portion belonged to the Proteobacteria and Deinococcus-Thermus phyla. Potentially pathogenic strains carried by the birds were found such as Helicobacter and Staphylococcus in all bird species, and Clostridium, Mycobacterium, Rhodococcus, Legionella and Corynebacterium in black-winged stilts. Unexpectedly, bacteria from the phylum Deinococcus-Thermus were isolated in shorebirds and were present in all the bird species studied.