Authors
Muriel Dietrich, Teresa Kearney, Ernest CJ Seamark, Wanda Markotter
Publication date
2017/1/1
Journal
FEMS Microbiology Letters
Volume
364
Issue
1
Pages
fnw284
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Description
Animal-associated microbiotas form complex communities, which play crucial functions for their host, including susceptibility to infections. Despite increasing attention to bats as reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, their microbiota is poorly documented, especially for samples potentially implicated in pathogen transmission such as urine and saliva. Here, using low-biomass individual samples, we examined the composition and structure of bacterial communities excreted by insectivorous bats, focusing on three body habitats (saliva, urine and faeces). We show that niche specialisation occurs as bacterial community composition was distinct across body habitats with the majority of phylotypes being body habitat specific. Our results suggest that urine harbours more diverse bacterial communities than …
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