Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the bacterial microbiome associated with the carapace of three species of Galapagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis porteri, Chelonoidis donfaustoi, and Chelonoidis vandenburghi) and determine the potential effect of the whitish lesions caused by the fungus Aphanoascella galapagosensis.
RESULTS: We used Oxford Nanopore\'s MinION to evaluate the external bacterial microbiome associated with the carapaces from the aforementioned species. Taxonomic assignment was carried out by Bugseq and the bacterial communities were compared between carapaces with and without lesions using a NMDS with Bray-Curtis as the dissimilarity index. We found four genera of bacteria that were ubiquitous throughout all individuals, suggesting the presence of shared taxa. The results also displayed a significant difference in the microbiome between carapaces with and without lesions, and for species-carapace interaction, but not among species.
CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes a baseline of the bacterial diversity of the carapace within three Galapagos giant tortoise species, showcasing the presence of a distinctive microbial community. Furthermore, our findings suggest a significant influence of the fungus Aphanoascella galapagosensis on the bacterial populations inhabiting the carapace of these reptiles.
RESULTS: We used Oxford Nanopore\'s MinION to evaluate the external bacterial microbiome associated with the carapaces from the aforementioned species. Taxonomic assignment was carried out by Bugseq and the bacterial communities were compared between carapaces with and without lesions using a NMDS with Bray-Curtis as the dissimilarity index. We found four genera of bacteria that were ubiquitous throughout all individuals, suggesting the presence of shared taxa. The results also displayed a significant difference in the microbiome between carapaces with and without lesions, and for species-carapace interaction, but not among species.
CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes a baseline of the bacterial diversity of the carapace within three Galapagos giant tortoise species, showcasing the presence of a distinctive microbial community. Furthermore, our findings suggest a significant influence of the fungus Aphanoascella galapagosensis on the bacterial populations inhabiting the carapace of these reptiles.
摘要：
目的：本研究旨在描述与三种加拉帕戈斯巨龟甲壳相关的细菌微生物组（Chelonoidisporteri，Chelonoidisdonfaustoi,和Chelonoidisvandenburghi），并确定由真菌Acphanoascellagalapagosensis引起的白色病变的潜在影响。
结果：我们使用OxfordNanopore\的MinION来评估与上述物种的甲壳相关的外部细菌微生物组。由Bugseq进行分类学分配，并使用Bray-Curtis作为差异指数的NMDS比较有和没有病变的甲壳之间的细菌群落。我们发现四属细菌普遍存在于所有个体中，表明所有个体都存在共享分类群。结果还显示，有和没有病变的甲壳之间的微生物组存在显着差异，对于物种与甲壳的相互作用，但不是物种之间。
结论：这项研究建立了三个加拉帕戈斯巨龟物种中甲壳细菌多样性的基线，展示了独特的微生物群落的存在。此外，我们的发现表明，真菌Aphanoascellagalapagosensis对居住在这些爬行动物甲壳上的细菌种群有显着影响。
结果：我们使用OxfordNanopore\的MinION来评估与上述物种的甲壳相关的外部细菌微生物组。由Bugseq进行分类学分配，并使用Bray-Curtis作为差异指数的NMDS比较有和没有病变的甲壳之间的细菌群落。我们发现四属细菌普遍存在于所有个体中，表明所有个体都存在共享分类群。结果还显示，有和没有病变的甲壳之间的微生物组存在显着差异，对于物种与甲壳的相互作用，但不是物种之间。
结论：这项研究建立了三个加拉帕戈斯巨龟物种中甲壳细菌多样性的基线，展示了独特的微生物群落的存在。此外，我们的发现表明，真菌Aphanoascellagalapagosensis对居住在这些爬行动物甲壳上的细菌种群有显着影响。
