Pathogen surveillance in wild bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Microbiology
• Veterinary Science

Background:

• Marine ecosystems face rising disease prevalence, impacting marine mammal health.
• Limited understanding of pathogens affecting marine mammals hinders disease outbreak management.
• Rapid detection platforms are crucial for assessing and preventing marine mammal diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey microbial agents associated with wild Atlantic bottlenose dolphins using a broad-spectrum molecular detection array.
• To characterize pathogens present in blowhole, gastric, and fecal samples from dolphins.
• To establish a baseline understanding of the dolphin microbial community profile.

Main Methods:

• Collected blowhole, gastric, and fecal samples from 8 wild bottlenose dolphins.
• Utilized the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array, a broad-spectrum molecular detection technology.
• Applied microbiological culture techniques for comparative pathogen detection.

Main Results:

• The microbial detection array identified various microbial agents across dolphin samples.
• Clostridium perfringens was the most prevalent pathogen detected by the array and confirmed by culture.
• Campylobacter sp., Staphylococcus sp., Erwinia amylovora, Helicobacter pylori, and Frankia sp. were detected by the array in multiple dolphins but not by culture.

Conclusions:

• This study presents the first pathogen survey in dolphins using a broad-spectrum microbial detection microarray across three tissue types.
• The findings expand insights into the microbial community profile of dolphins.
• The broad-spectrum array offers a valuable tool for rapid detection and characterization of marine mammal pathogens.