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Cutaneous microbiota of the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), a representative of an ancient amphibian clade

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Abstract

Andrias japonicus, the Japanese giant salamander, is the second largest amphibian species in the world. The biology of this long-lived, fully aquatic salamander is still incompletely known, and studying the threats it experiences is important for conservation management. We used 16S amplicon sequencing to provide the first data on the composition and diversity of the cutaneous microbiome of this species. Skin bacterial communities of adult and larval giant salamanders were composed primarily of taxa belonging to the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, and, their community structure differed significantly from that of two other syntopic amphibians (Cynops pyrrhogaster and Glandirana rugosa). We also found differences between wild A. japonicus and captive individuals, with the latter having an increased bacterial diversity. The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) was detected only in captive individuals (40% prevalence), and did not correlate with a particular bacterial community structure. We identified eight bacteria that were significantly more abundant on A. japonicus compared to syntopic amphibians, one of which was Janthinobacterium lividum, a bacterial species known to exert Bd-inhibiting effects. Our study provides baseline data for future in-depth studies on the microbial ecology of cutaneous bacteria and the contribution of cutaneous bacteria to Bd resistance in giant salamanders.

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Acknowledgements

We are deeply grateful to Koshiro Eto and members of the society for the natural history of Higashi Hiroshima city for their help with sample collection in the field, and to Christoph Tebbe and Anja Dohrmann for helpful advice. We also extend our gratitude to the Boards of Education of Higashi Hiroshima and Kyoto cities for allowing us to collect the swab samples from live Andrias japonicus individuals protected by law. The present study was conducted under permits from the Japan Agency of Cultural Affairs to NS in 2013–2015 (Permission No. 445) and to KN in 2011–2017 (No. 420) and 2015–2018 (No. 710), and supported by a grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (VE247/9-1) and a guest researcher fellowship of Hiroshima University to MV.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Molly C Bletz, Miguel Vences & Joana Sabino-Pinto

  2. Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, Asa-cho Doubutsuen, Asakita-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, 731-3355, Japan

    Yuki Taguchi

  3. Hiroshima University Museum, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

    Norio Shimizu

  4. Graduate School of Human & Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Nihonmatsu-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Kanto Nishikawa

  5. Amphibian Research Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

    Atsushi Kurabayashi

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  1. Molly C Bletz
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  2. Miguel Vences
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Correspondence to Molly C Bletz.

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Bletz, M.C., Vences, M., Sabino-Pinto, J. et al. Cutaneous microbiota of the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), a representative of an ancient amphibian clade. Hydrobiologia 795, 153–167 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3126-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3126-2

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