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Rudzki EN, Antonson ND, Jones TM, Schelsky WM, Trevelline BK, Hauber ME, Kohl KD. Host avian species and environmental conditions influence the microbial ecology of brood parasitic brown-headed cowbird nestlings: What rules the roost? Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17289. [PMID: 38327124 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The role of species interactions, as well as genetic and environmental factors, all likely contribute to the composition and structure of the gut microbiome; however, disentangling these independent factors under field conditions represents a challenge for a functional understanding of gut microbial ecology. Avian brood parasites provide unique opportunities to investigate these questions, as brood parasitism results in parasite and host nestlings being raised in the same nest, by the same parents. Here we utilized obligate brood parasite brown-headed cowbird nestlings (BHCO; Molothrus ater) raised by several different host passerine species to better understand, via 16S rRNA sequencing, the microbial ecology of brood parasitism. First, we compared faecal microbial communities of prothonotary warbler nestlings (PROW; Protonotaria citrea) that were either parasitized or non-parasitized by BHCO and communities among BHCO nestlings from PROW nests. We found that parasitism by BHCO significantly altered both the community membership and community structure of the PROW nestling microbiota, perhaps due to the stressful nest environment generated by brood parasitism. In a second dataset, we compared faecal microbiotas from BHCO nestlings raised by six different host passerine species. Here, we found that the microbiota of BHCO nestlings was significantly influenced by the parental host species and the presence of an inter-specific nestmate. Thus, early rearing environment is important in determining the microbiota of brood parasite nestlings and their companion nestlings. Future work may aim to understand the functional effects of this microbiota variability on nestling performance and fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth N Rudzki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Nicholas D Antonson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Todd M Jones
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Wendy M Schelsky
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Prairie Research Institute, Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Brian K Trevelline
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
- Advanced Science Research Center and Program in Psychology, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kevin D Kohl
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Polidori C, Ferrari A, Borruso L, Mattarelli P, Dindo ML, Modesto M, Carrieri M, Puggioli A, Ronchetti F, Bellini R. Aedes albopictus microbiota: Differences between wild and mass-reared immatures do not suggest negative impacts from a diet based on black soldier fly larvae and fish food. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292043. [PMID: 37751428 PMCID: PMC10521979 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The "Sterile Insect Technique" (SIT), a promising method to control Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, is gaining increasing interest. Recently, the role of microbiota in mosquito fitness received attention, but the link between microbiota and larval diet in mass rearing programs for SIT remains largely unexplored. We characterized the microbiota of four larval instars, pupae and eggs of non-wild (NW) lab-reared Ae. albopictus fed with a diet based on Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae powder and fish food KOI pellets. We compared it with wild (W) field-collected individuals and the bacterial community occurring in rearing water-diet (DIET). A total of 18 bacterial classes with > 0.10% abundance were found overall in the samples, with seven classes being especially abundant. Overall, the microbiota profile significantly differed among NW, W and DIET. Verrucomicrobiae were significantly more abundant in W and DIET, Bacteroidia were more abundant in NW and DIET, and Gammaproteobacteria were only more abundant in W than in DIET. W-eggs microbiota differed from all the other groups. Large differences also appeared at the bacterial genus-level, with the abundance of 14 genera differing among groups. Three ASVs of Acinetobacter, known to have positive effects on tiger mosquitoes, were more abundant in NW than in W, while Serratia, known to have negative or neutral effects on another Aedes species, was less abundant in NW than in W. The bacterial community of W-eggs was the richest in species, while dominance and diversity did not differ among groups. Our data show that the diet based on Black soldier fly powder and fish food KOI influences the microbiota of NW tiger mosquito immature stages, but not in a way that may suggest a negative impact on their quality in SIT programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Polidori
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Ferrari
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Luigimaria Borruso
- Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano, Piazza Università, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Paola Mattarelli
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin, Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Luisa Dindo
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin, Bologna, Italy
| | - Monica Modesto
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marco Carrieri
- Centro Agricoltura Ambiente “G. Nicoli”, IAEA Collaborating Centre, Via Sant’Agata, Crevalcore, Italy
| | - Arianna Puggioli
- Centro Agricoltura Ambiente “G. Nicoli”, IAEA Collaborating Centre, Via Sant’Agata, Crevalcore, Italy
| | - Federico Ronchetti
- Department of Biosciences and Pediatric Clinical Research Center “Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi”, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Italian Malaria Network, Inter University Center for Malaria Research, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Romeo Bellini
- Centro Agricoltura Ambiente “G. Nicoli”, IAEA Collaborating Centre, Via Sant’Agata, Crevalcore, Italy
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