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16S rRNA Gene Sequencing-Based Identification and Comparative Analysis of the Fecal Microbiota of Five Syntopic Lizard Species from a Low-Mountain Area in Western Bulgaria

Authors :
Irina Lazarkevich
Stephan Engibarov
Simona Mitova
Emiliya Vacheva
Steliyana Popova
Nikola Stanchev
Rumyana Eneva
Yana Gocheva
Ivanka Boyadzhieva
Maria Gerginova
Source :
Applied Microbiology, Vol 4, Iss 1, Pp 181-193 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Studies on the gut microbiome of free-living reptiles in Europe are generally fragmentary and still missing in Bulgaria. We aimed to identify and compare the fecal microbiota profiles of five syntopic lizard species from three families: the European green lizard (Lacerta viridis), the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), the meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola) (Lacertidae), the European snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii) (Scincidae), and the European slow worm (Anguis fragilis) (Anguidae), which coinhabit a low mountainous area in the western part of the country. A high-throughput sequencing of the hypervariable V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, performed on the Illumina HiSeq2500 platform, was used. The core microbiota of lizard hosts seems to be species-specific. A dynamic phyla proportion between hosts was found. The richest alpha diversity was observed in D. praticola, and the lowest alpha diversity was observed in P. muralis and A. fragilis. Within the three lacertids, the microbiota of D. praticola and L. viridis were more closely related to each other than they were to those of P. muralis. Sharing a largely common trophic resource (all species except A. fragilis are mainly insectivorous) was not an indication of similarity in their gut microbial communities.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
26738007 and 45838763
Volume :
4
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Applied Microbiology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.b6a99b2fe79a458387633f6d482cbaf7
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol4010013