RRC ID 15730
Author Brito-Echeverría J, López-López A, Yarza P, Antón J, Rosselló-Móra R.
Title Occurrence of Halococcus spp. in the nostrils salt glands of the seabird Calonectris diomedea.
Journal Extremophiles
Abstract The nostrils of the seabird Calonectris diomedea are endowed with a salt-excreting gland that could produce a suitable environment for the colonization of extreme halophilic prokaryotes. We have studied in this organ the presence of extreme halophiles by means of culturing techniques. We could easily cultivate members of haloarchaea, and all cultures studied were identified as members of one of the two species Halococcus morrhuae and Hcc. dombrowskii. In order to reveal the diversity of these colonizers, we undertook a taxonomic study. Altogether, the results indicated that members of the genus Halococcus may constitute a part of the natural epizootic microbiota of C. diomedea, and that they exhibit such an important degree of taxonomic variability that appeals for a pragmatic species definition. This seabird nests in the west Mediterranean coasts, but its migratory habits, reaching locations as distant from the Mediterranean as the South Atlantic, may help in the dispersal mechanisms of haloarchaea through the Earth's surface.
Volume 13(3)
Pages 557-65
Published 2009-5-1
DOI 10.1007/s00792-009-0238-2
PMID 19363644
MeSH Animals Base Sequence Birds / microbiology* DNA Primers Halococcus / classification Halococcus / isolation & purification* Nose / microbiology* Nucleic Acid Hybridization Phylogeny Salt Gland / microbiology* Species Specificity
IF 2.462
Times Cited 15
WOS Category MICROBIOLOGY BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Resource
General Microbes JCM 8876 JCM 13552 JCM 13587