symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals
DESCRIPTION
Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals. Danielle Whittaker Kevin Theis. Photo by Marine Drouilly. Symbiotic hypothesis for chemical communication. Symbiotic microbes in spotted hyena scent pouches are responsible for odors in scent marks. Structure (Bray-Curtis). - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals
Danielle WhittakerKevin Theis
Photo by Marine Drouilly
![Page 2: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Symbiotic hypothesis for chemical communication
![Page 3: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Symbiotic microbes in spotted hyena scent pouches are responsible for odors in scent marks
-0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
Structure (Bray-Curtis)
ANOSIM: R = 0.36, P = 0.002
Fig Tree
SouthernComfort
Mara River
Emarti Hill
Bacterial community structure varies with clan membership
(Theis et al. 2012)
![Page 4: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Preen oil is an odor source in birds
Oil secreted from the uropygial gland contains volatile compounds that give birds an odor
![Page 5: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Photo by Danielle Whittaker
Volatile compounds in preen oil vary with:
SpeciesSexPopulationRelatednessBreeding
conditionQuality …and could play a
role in mate choice.
![Page 6: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Photo by Marine Drouilly
Do avian preen glands harbor odor-producing bacteria?
Do adults transmit these bacteria to their offspring during the nestling phase?
![Page 7: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis)Mountain Lake Biological Station, VA
![Page 8: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Dark-eyed Juncos
Seasonal breedersSocially monogamous~30% extra-pair
fertilization (EPF) rateFemales incubate eggs,
both males and females feed nestlings
Nestlings fledge at day 12
Photo by Marine Drouilly
![Page 9: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Photo by Dawn O’Neal
Field Methods
13 nests, 64 juncosSwab samples from preen glands:• all nestlings (2-4,
mean = 2.9) at age 11-12 days
• both parents at all but 2 nests
![Page 10: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Photo by Marine Drouilly
Extracted DNA from swabs using MO BIO PowerSoil Kits
Illumina MiSeq platform, targeting the V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene
Processed using mothurEach sample subsampled to
5000 sequencesBacterial sequences clustered
based on 97% nucleotide similarity to define OTUs
Sequencing Methods
![Page 11: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Photo by Flickr user Super Bay
Bacterial communities in junco preen glands have very high levels of diversity
Top 20 OTUs account for ~45% of sequences, with no OTU accounting for more than 5%
In hyena scent glands, the top 20 OTUs account for ~90% of sequences, with the top OTU accounting for ~45%
![Page 12: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Top 20 OTUs in junco preen glands:Burkholderiaceae, BurkholderiaBurkholderiaceae, RalstoniaClostridiaceae, ClostridiumClostridiales Family XI, Incertae
Sedis XI, AnaerococcusComamonadaceae, unknownEnterobacteriaceae, unknownEnterobacteriaceae, unknownEnterococcaceae,
EnterococcusHalomonadaceae, KushneriaHalomonadaceae, Salinicola
Kineosporiaceae, KineococcusMicrococcaceae, unknownMoraxellaceae, AlkanindigesMoraxellaceae, unknownMoraxellaceae, unknownUnknown, unknownPseudomonadaceae,
PseudomonasRhodobacteraceae, unknownSphingomonadaceae,
SphingomonasSphingomonadaceae,
Sphingomonas
![Page 13: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Other prominent OTUs associated with odor:
Corynebacterium: human axillary odorPorphyromonas: malodorous breath Bacteroides, Finegoldia & Fusobacterium:
common volatile fatty acid producers associated with many vertebrates
![Page 14: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Bacterial community structure varied by nest
Nests significantly different (70/78 pairwise comparisons)NPMANOVA, all: F = 3.751, P = 0.0001 (Bray-Curtis)Nestlings only: F = 6.946, P = 0.0001
Photo by Nicole Gerlach
![Page 15: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
all individuals, NPMANOVA, F = 3.751, P = 0.0001
![Page 16: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
nestlings only, NPMANOVA, F = 6.946, P = 0.0001
![Page 17: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Nestlings were more similar to mother than father
Wilcoxon’s test, N = 34, W = 564, P < 0.0001
![Page 18: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Junco preen gland bacterial communities
Highly diverseCluster by nestNestlings closely
resemble each other and mother
Reliable transmission across generations via physical contact
![Page 19: Symbiotic microbes may mediate songbird chemical signals](https://reader036.vdocuments.site/reader036/viewer/2022062813/56816676550346895dda1215/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Acknowledgments
Photo by Nicole Gerlach
Tracy TealArvind VenkataramanEllen KettersonSamuel Slowinski