pH drop impacts differentially skin and gut microbiota of the Amazonian fish tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum)

Sylvain, F.-É., Cheaib, B. , Llewellyn, M. , Gabriel Correia, T., Barros Fagundes, D., Luis Val, A. and Derome, N. (2016) pH drop impacts differentially skin and gut microbiota of the Amazonian fish tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). Scientific Reports, 6, 32032. (doi: 10.1038/srep32032) (PMID:27535789) (PMCID:PMC4989189)

Abstract

Aquatic organisms are increasingly exposed to lowering of environmental pH due to anthropogenic pressure (e.g. acid rain, acid mine drainages). Such acute variations trigger imbalance of fish-associated microbiota, which in turn favour opportunistic diseases. We used the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), an Amazonian fish tolerant to significant pH variation in its natural environment, to assess the response of fish endogenous microbiota to acute short-term acid stress. We exposed 36 specimens of tambaquis to acidic water (pH 4.0) over 2 consecutive weeks and sampled cutaneous mucus, feces and water at 0, 7 & 14 days. The 16S RNA hypervariable region V4 was sequenced on Illumina MiSeq. After two weeks of acidic exposure, fecal and skin microbiota taxonomic structures exhibited different patterns: skin microbiota was still exhibiting a significantly disturbed composition whereas fecal microbiota recovered a similar composition to control group, thus suggesting a stronger resilience capacity of the intestinal microbiota than cutaneous microbiota.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Llewellyn, Professor Martin and Cheaib, Dr Bachar
• Authors: Sylvain, F.-É., Cheaib, B., Llewellyn, M., Gabriel Correia, T., Barros Fagundes, D., Luis Val, A., and Derome, N.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 6:32032
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License