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Teyssier A, Rouffaer LO, Saleh Hudin N, Strubbe D, Matthysen E, Lens L, White J. Inside the guts of the city: Urban-induced alterations of the gut microbiota in a wild passerine. Sci Total Environ 2018; 612:1276-1286. [PMID: 28898933 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Revised: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Urbanisation represents one of the most radical forms of terrestrial land use change and has been shown to lead to alterations in ecosystem functioning and community dynamics and changes in individual phenotypic traits. While the recent surge in microbiome studies has brought about a paradigm shift by which individuals cannot truly be considered independently of the bacterial communities they host, the role of gut microbiota in organismal response to human-induced environmental change is still scarcely studied. Here, we applied a metabarcoding approach to examine the impact of urbanisation on the gut microbiota of Passer domesticus. We found urbanisation to be associated to lower microbiota species diversity, modifications in taxonomic composition and community structure, and changes in functional composition. The strength of these relationships, however, depended on the spatial scale and season at which they were considered. Such spatio-temporal effect suggests that urbanisation may dampen the natural seasonal variation of the gut microbiota observed in more pristine habitats, potentially influencing the fitness of urban organisms. Our results hence shed light on a hitherto little considered perspective, i.e. that the negative effects of urbanisation on city-dwelling organisms may extend to their microbiomes, causing potential dysbioses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimeric Teyssier
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFEA-IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France.
| | - Lieze Oscar Rouffaer
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Noraine Saleh Hudin
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Diederik Strubbe
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Joël White
- Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-ENSFEA-IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
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Rouffaer LO, Strubbe D, Teyssier A, Salleh Hudin N, Van den Abeele AM, Cox I, Haesendonck R, Delmée M, Haesebrouck F, Pasmans F, Lens L, Martel A. Effects of urbanization on host-pathogen interactions, using Yersinia in house sparrows as a model. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189509. [PMID: 29281672 PMCID: PMC5744950 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization strongly affects biodiversity, altering natural communities and often leading to a reduced species richness. Yet, despite its increasingly recognized importance, how urbanization impacts on the health of individual animals, wildlife populations and on disease ecology remains poorly understood. To test whether, and how, urbanization-driven ecosystem alterations influence pathogen dynamics and avian health, we use house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Yersinia spp. (pathogenic for passerines) as a case study. Sparrows are granivorous urban exploiters, whose western European populations have declined over the past decades, especially in highly urbanized areas. We sampled 329 house sparrows originating from 36 populations along an urbanization gradient across Flanders (Belgium), and used isolation combined with 'matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization- time of flight mass spectrometry' (MALDI-TOF MS) and PCR methods for detecting the presence of different Yersinia species. Yersinia spp. were recovered from 57.43% of the sampled house sparrows, of which 4.06%, 53.30% and 69.54% were identified as Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica and other Yersinia species, respectively. Presence of Yersinia was related to the degree of urbanization, average daily temperatures and the community of granivorous birds present at sparrow capture locations. Body condition of suburban house sparrows was found to be higher compared to urban and rural house sparrows, but no relationships between sparrows' body condition and presence of Yersinia spp. were found. We conclude that two determinants of pathogen infection dynamics, body condition and pathogen occurrence, vary along an urbanization gradient, potentially mediating the impact of urbanization on avian health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lieze Oscar Rouffaer
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Diederik Strubbe
- Department of Biology (Terrestrial Ecology Unit), Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Aimeric Teyssier
- Department of Biology (Terrestrial Ecology Unit), Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Antwerp University, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Noraine Salleh Hudin
- Department of Biology (Terrestrial Ecology Unit), Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science & Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia
| | | | - Ivo Cox
- Microbiology Laboratory, AZ Sint Lucas Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Roel Haesendonck
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Michel Delmée
- Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Freddy Haesebrouck
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Frank Pasmans
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Department of Biology (Terrestrial Ecology Unit), Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - An Martel
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
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Rouffaer LO, Baert K, Van den Abeele AM, Cox I, Vanantwerpen G, De Zutter L, Strubbe D, Vranckx K, Lens L, Haesebrouck F, Delmée M, Pasmans F, Martel A. Low prevalence of human enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Flanders. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0175648. [PMID: 28403184 PMCID: PMC5389835 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been identified as potential carriers of Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, the etiological agents of yersiniosis, the third most reported bacterial zoonosis in Europe. Enteropathogenic Yersinia spp. are most often isolated from rats during yersiniosis cases in animals and humans, and from rats inhabiting farms and slaughterhouses. Information is however lacking regarding the extent to which rats act as carriers of these Yersinia spp.. In 2013, 1088 brown rats across Flanders, Belgium, were tested for the presence of Yersinia species by isolation method. Identification was performed using MALDI-TOF MS, PCR on chromosomal- and plasmid-borne virulence genes, biotyping and serotyping. Yersinia spp. were isolated from 38.4% of the rats. Of these, 53.4% were designated Y. enterocolitica, 0.7% Y. pseudotuberculosis and 49.0% other Yersinia species. Two Y. enterocolitica possessing the virF-, ail- and ystA-gene were isolated. Additionally, the ystB-gene was identified in 94.1% of the other Y. enterocolitica isolates, suggestive for biotype 1A. Three of these latter isolates simultaneously possessed the ail-virulence gene. Significantly more Y. enterocolitica were isolated during winter and spring compared to summer. Based on our findings we can conclude that brown rats are frequent carriers for various Yersinia spp., including Y. pseudotuberculosis and (human pathogenic) Y. enterocolitica which are more often isolated during winter and spring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lieze Oscar Rouffaer
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Kristof Baert
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Ivo Cox
- Microbiology Laboratory, AZ Sint Lucas Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Gerty Vanantwerpen
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Lieven De Zutter
- Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | | | | | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Freddy Haesebrouck
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Michel Delmée
- Institute of Experimental and Clinical Research, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Frank Pasmans
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - An Martel
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
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