TY - JOUR
T1 - The microbiome of New World vultures
AU - Roggenbuck, Michael
AU - Schnell, Ida Bærholm
AU - Blom, Nikolaj
AU - Bælum, Jacob
AU - Bertelsen, Mads Frost
AU - Sicheritz-Pontén, Thomas
AU - Sørensen, Søren Johannes
AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.
AU - Graves, Gary R.
AU - Hansen, Lars H.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Vultures are scavengers that fill a key ecosystem niche, in which they have evolved a remarkable tolerance to bacterial toxins in decaying meat. Here we report the first deep metagenomic analysis of the vulture microbiome. Through face and gut comparisons of 50 vultures representing two species, we demonstrate a remarkably conserved low diversity of gut microbial flora. The gut samples contained an average of 76 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per specimen, compared with 528 OTUs on the facial skin. Clostridia and Fusobacteria, widely pathogenic to other vertebrates, dominate the vulture’s gut microbiota. We reveal a likely faecal–oral–gut route for their origin. DNA of prey species detectable on facial swabs was completely degraded in the gut samples from most vultures, suggesting that the gastrointestinal tracts of vultures are extremely selective. Our findings show a strong adaption of vultures and their bacteria to their food source, exemplifying a specialized host–microbial alliance.
AB - Vultures are scavengers that fill a key ecosystem niche, in which they have evolved a remarkable tolerance to bacterial toxins in decaying meat. Here we report the first deep metagenomic analysis of the vulture microbiome. Through face and gut comparisons of 50 vultures representing two species, we demonstrate a remarkably conserved low diversity of gut microbial flora. The gut samples contained an average of 76 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per specimen, compared with 528 OTUs on the facial skin. Clostridia and Fusobacteria, widely pathogenic to other vertebrates, dominate the vulture’s gut microbiota. We reveal a likely faecal–oral–gut route for their origin. DNA of prey species detectable on facial swabs was completely degraded in the gut samples from most vultures, suggesting that the gastrointestinal tracts of vultures are extremely selective. Our findings show a strong adaption of vultures and their bacteria to their food source, exemplifying a specialized host–microbial alliance.
U2 - 10.1038/ncomms6498
DO - 10.1038/ncomms6498
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 25423494
VL - 5
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
SN - 2041-1723
M1 - 5498
ER -