McCann P, McFarland C, Megaw J, Siu-Ting K, Cantacessi C, Rinaldi G, Gobert GN. Assessing the microbiota of the snail intermediate host of trematodes, Galba truncatula.
Parasit Vectors 2024;
17:31. [PMID:
38263069 PMCID:
PMC10807216 DOI:
10.1186/s13071-024-06118-7]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The microbiome is known to play key roles in health and disease, including host susceptibility to parasite infections. The freshwater snail Galba truncatula is the intermediate host for many trematode species, including the liver and rumen flukes Fasciola hepatica and Calicophoron daubneyi, respectively. The snail-parasite system has previously been investigated. However, the specific interaction between the snail-associated microbiota and intra-snail developmental stages of trematodes has yet to be explored.
METHODS
Galba truncatula snails were collected from farms in Northern Ireland and trematode infection was diagnosed using PCR. High-throughput sequencing analysis of the bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA V3-V4 hypervariable regions was subsequently applied to characterise the microbiota of both uninfected and infected snails.
RESULTS
We first showed that the snail harboured microbiota that was distinct for its environment. The microbiota of infected snails was found to differ significantly from that of uninfected snails. In particular, the bacterial genera Mycoplasma and Methylotenera were significantly more abundant in infected snails, while genera Sphingomonas and Nocardioides were predominantly associated with uninfected snails.
CONCLUSION
These findings pave the way to future studies on the functional roles of bacteria in host-parasite relationships.
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