Characterization of the Skin Cultivable Microbiota Composition of the Frog <i>Pelophylax perezi</i> Inhabiting Different Environments

• Main Authors: Diogo Neves Proença, Emanuele Fasola, Isabel Lopes, Paula V. Morais
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: cutaneous cultivable microbiota; acid mine drainage; amphibians; Perez’s frog; <i>Acinetobacter</i>; exopolysaccharide
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2585
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

Microorganisms that live in association with amphibian skin can play important roles in protecting their host. Within the scenarios of global change, it is important to understand how environmental disturbances, namely, metal pollution, can affect this microbiota. The aim of this study is to recognize core bacteria in the skin cultivable microbiota of the Perez frog (<i>Pelophylax perezi</i>) that are preserved regardless of the environmental conditions in which the frogs live. The characterization of these isolates revealed characteristics that can support their contributions to the ability of frogs to use metal impacted environments. Frog’s skin swabs were collected from <i>P. perezi</i> populations that inhabit a metal-polluted site and three reference (non-metal polluted) sites. Bacterial strains were isolated, identified, and subjected to an acid mine drainage tolerance (AMD) test, collected upstream from a site heavily contaminated with metals, and tested to produce extracellular polymeric substances (exopolysaccharide, EPS). All frog populations had <i>Acinetobacter</i> in their cutaneous cultivable microbiota. Significant growth inhibition was observed in all bacterial isolates exposed to 75% of AMD. EPS production was considered a characteristic of several isolates. The data obtained is a preliminary step but crucial to sustain that the cultivable microbiota is a mechanism for protecting frogs against environmental contamination.