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Isolation and Identification of Bacterial Strains from Skin of Terrestrial Amphibians
Published on: June 17, 2025
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Variation in the Slimy Salamander (Plethodon spp.) Skin and Gut-Microbial Assemblages Is Explained by Geographic
Donald M Walker1, Aubree J Hill2, Molly A Albecker3
1Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, PO Box 60, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, USA. Donald.Walker@mtsu.edu.
Microbial Ecology
|December 6, 2019
Summary
Host-associated microbial communities in Plethodon glutinosus salamanders are shaped by geography and host genetics. Gut bacterial communities show high connectedness, while host clade influences skin bacteria and gut fungi, revealing metaorganismal assembly patterns.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- The metaorganism concept highlights the co-evolutionary relationship between hosts and their microbial symbionts.
- Microbial communities significantly impact host life history, ecology, and evolution.
- Understanding host-microbe interactions is crucial for comprehending biodiversity and ecosystem function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the complete skin and gut microbial communities (bacteria and fungi) of the terrestrial salamander, Plethodon glutinosus.
- To investigate how host factors (mitochondrial clades) and geographic distance structure these microbial assemblages across populations.
- To infer the functional roles of gut-fungal communities in salamander life history.
Main Methods:
- High-throughput amplicon sequencing was employed to profile bacterial and fungal communities.
- Microbial assemblages were analyzed across 13 geographic locations representing nine host mitochondrial haplotypes.
- Network analyses and phylogenetic context were used to examine community structure and host associations.
Main Results:
- Microbial assemblages showed strong correlations at close geographic distances, becoming more distinct with increasing spatial separation.
- Gut-bacterial communities exhibited the highest degree of geographic connectedness.
- Host salamander clade explained skin-bacterial and gut-fungal assemblages, but not gut-bacterial assemblages without a phylogenetic framework.
Conclusions:
- Dispersal limitation likely contributes to spatial patterns of microbial assemblages.
- The salamander host actively selects for specific skin and gut microbial communities, maintaining them over time in related populations.
- These findings advance our understanding of metaorganismal assembly and host-microbe co-evolution.
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