A longitudinal survey in the wild reveals major shifts in fish host
microbiota after parasite infection
Abstract
Recent studies have highlighted associations between diseases and host
microbiota. However, the role of microbe in infection process is yet to
be clarified between host microbiota promoting future infections, or
changes in host microbiota resulting from infections. We longitudinally
surveyed, in the wild, the microbiota of individual fish hosts
(Leuciscus burdigalensis) both before and after infection by a
crustacean ectoparasite (Tracheliastes polycolpus). We found a striking
association between parasite infection and the host microbiota
composition restricted to the fins the parasite anchored. We clearly
demonstrated that infections by the parasite induced a shift in (and did
not result from) the host fin microbiota. Fin microbiota further got
similar to that of the adult stage, and the free-living infective stage
of the parasite during infection with a predominance of the
Burkholderiaceae bacteria family. This suggests that Burkholderiaceae
bacteria is involved in a co-infection process and possibly facilitate
T. polycolpus infection.