Intestinal microbiota has been involved in several processes that benefit the host, such as digestion, nutrient metabolism, resistance to pathogens colonization and immune function. In this study, we investigated the diversity, composition and functional prediction of microbiota of reared Seriolella violacea (palm ruff) in the same cohort sampled at different times (7-, 8- and 9-month-old). Microbial community structure analyses, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, revealed that the intestinal microbiota was dominated by the phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria and Tenericutes. At the genus level, Candidatus Arthromitus was the most abundant in all sampled timepoints, representing in average 78% of the bacterial community (ranging from 18 to 98%), corresponding to segmented filamentous bacteria, which are interesting because they have been associated with the maturation of immune responses in the gut and protecting the host from bacterial infections. The comparisons of the intestinal microbiota among the three groups showed differences in abundance of bacterial taxa and also in alpha diversity indexes (Shannon and Simpson), as well as beta diversity metrics (weighted and unweighted UniFrac). Potential functions of the intestinal microbiota of palm ruff were retrieved using Philipin and Tax4fun and these analyses revealed high levels of genes for sugar metabolism. To our knowledge, this study represents the first description of the intestinal microbiota of S. violacea.
Objetivo. Informe sobre especies de garrapatas que parasitan a los humanos en un área del bioma semiárido de Caatinga, noreste de Brasil, con nota de infección por rickettsias. Materiales y métodos. Todas las garrapatas se identificaron morfológicamente con estereomicroscopio. Algunas de las garrapatas recolectadas se analizaron molecularmente para detectar la presencia de ADN de bacterias del género Rickettsia. Las garrapatas se sometieron individualmente a la extracción de ADN (gen de la citrato sintasa [gltA] y gen de la proteína de la membrana externa [ompA]). Resultados. Se recolectaron un total de 78 garrapatas en humanos, identificadas como adultos de Amblyomma parvum (62 hembras y 16 machos). De estas, 15 mujeres fueron infectadas por ‘Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae’. Conclusiones. El presente estudio confirma una zona más de riesgo humano de picaduras de garrapatas en Brasil, también de la rickettsia no patógena 'Ca. Rickettsia andeanae'
A putative novel methanotrophic genus, Candidatus Methylumidiphilus (Methylococcales), was recently shown to be ubiquitous and one of the most abundant methanotrophic genera in water columns of oxygen-stratified lakes and ponds in boreal and subarctic areas. However, it has probably escaped detection in many previous studies that used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing due to insufficient database coverage, as previously analysed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) affiliated with Ca. Methylumidiphilus do not contain 16S rRNA genes. Therefore, we screened MAGs affiliated with the genus for their 16S rRNA gene sequences in a recently published lake and pond MAG data set. Among 66 MAGs classified as Ca. Methylumidiphilus (with completeness over 40% and contamination less than 5%) originating from lakes in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland as well as from ponds in Canada, we found 5 MAGs, each containing one 1532 bp sequence spanning the V1-V9 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. After removal of sequence redundancy, this resulted in 2 unique 16S rRNA gene sequences. These sequences represented 2 different putative species: Ca. Methylumidiphilus alinenensis (GenBank accession OK236221) and another unnamed species of Ca. Methylumidiphilus (GenBank accession OK236220). We suggest that including these 2 sequences in reference databases will enhance 16S rRNA gene-based detection of members of this genus from environmental samples.