Host-specific and environmental influences of the gill microbiome.

The Teleost gill is an important colonising site for microbial organisms. However, little is understood about these communities and how host and environmental factors influence their structure and diversity.

Pratte et al. (2018) assessed similarities and variations in gill microbiome between host and environmental microbiomes across 15 fish families with varying diets and age. The study sequenced the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene before PCR amplification, clustering all microbiome sequences into OTU’s of 97% similarity.

The study highlighted evidence of Gill microbiomes jointly influenced by environmental microbes and host-specific factors. Environmental samples accounted for 75% of the gill microbiome OTU structure with few gill niche-specific bacterial genera Shewanella and family endozoicimonaceae. Host-specific analysis revealed a shared organising factor between individuals gill and intestine microbiomes and variations in microbiome compositions with host diet and age.

Overall, whilst the study gave evidence of factors influencing the gill microbiome of reef fish, building on an area of poor understanding, it seems to question why such factors would influence the gill microbiome, delving beyond the studies’ reach. Finally, I believe future studies could look further into the residency and characterisation of these host-specific and environmental microbes in the gill microbiome.

Pratte, Z. A., Besson, M., Hollman, R. D., & Stewart, F. J. (2018). The gills of reef fish support a distinct microbiome influenced by host-specific factors. Applied and Environmental Microbiology., 84(9), e00063-18.