PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Skin diseases commonly affect reptiles, but their relationships to the closely related skin microbiome are not well-understood. In recent years, both the wild and captive populations of the crocodile lizard, a Class I protected endangered animal in China, have suffered serious skin diseases that hamper the rescue and release projects for their conservation. This study conducted a detailed prevalence investigation of a major dermatosis characterized by foot skin ulcer in crocodile lizards. It should be noticed that skin ulcer has been prevalent in both captive and wild populations. There was positive correlation between skin ulcer and temperature, while no significant relationship between skin ulcer and humidity, sex, and age. We further studied the relationship between skin ulcer and the skin microbiota using meta-taxonomics. Results showed that the skin microbiota of crocodile lizards was significantly different from those of the environmental microbial communities, and that skin microbiota had a significant relationship with skin ulcer despite the impact of environment. Both bacterial and fungal communities on the ulcerated skin were significantly changed, which was characterized by lower community diversity and different dominant microbes. Our findings provide an insight into the relationship between skin microbiota and skin disease in reptile, serving as a reference for dermatological etiology in wildlife conservation.
摘要：
皮肤病通常影响爬行动物，但是它们与密切相关的皮肤微生物组的关系还没有得到很好的理解。近年来,鳄鱼蜥蜴的野生和圈养种群，中国的一类濒危保护动物，患有严重的皮肤病，阻碍了保护它们的救援和释放项目。这项研究对鳄鱼蜥蜴以足部皮肤溃疡为特征的主要皮肤病进行了详细的患病率调查。应该注意的是，皮肤溃疡在圈养和野生种群中都很普遍。皮肤溃疡与体温呈正相关,虽然皮肤溃疡与湿度之间没有显著关系，性别,和年龄。我们使用元分类组学进一步研究了皮肤溃疡与皮肤微生物群之间的关系。结果表明，鳄鱼蜥蜴的皮肤微生物区系与环境微生物群落有显著差异，尽管受到环境的影响，但皮肤微生物群与皮肤溃疡有显着关系。溃疡皮肤上的细菌和真菌群落均发生了显着变化，其特点是群落多样性较低，优势微生物不同。我们的发现为爬行动物皮肤微生物群与皮肤病之间的关系提供了见解，作为野生动物保护皮肤病学病因的参考。
