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The diversity of coliphages and coliforms in horse feces reveals a complex pattern of ecological interactions.
Abstract: The diversity of coliphages and indigenous coliform strains (ICSs) simultaneously present in horse feces was investigated by culture-based and molecular methods. The richness of coliforms (as estimated by the Chao1 method) is about 1,000 individual ICSs distinguishable by genomic fingerprinting present in a single sample of feces. This unexpectedly high value indicates that some factor limits the competition of coliform bacteria in the horse gut microbial system. In contrast, the diversity of phages active against any selected ICS is generally limited to one to three viral genotypes present in the sample. The sensitivities of different ICSs to simultaneously present coliphages overlap only slightly; the phages isolated from the same sample on different ICSs are usually unrelated. As a result, the titers of phages in fecal extract as determined for different Escherichia coli strains and ICSs may differ by several orders of magnitude. Summarizing all the data, we propose that coliphage infection may provide a selection pressure that maintains the high level of coliform diversity, restricting the possibility of a few best competitors outgrowing other ICSs. We also observed high-magnitude temporal variations of coliphage titers as determined using an E. coli C600 test culture in the same animal during a 16-day period of monitoring. No correlation with total coliform count was observed. These results are in good agreement with our hypothesis.
Publication Date: 2007-08-17 PubMed ID: 17704275PubMed Central: PMC2075005DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01145-07Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research paper investigates the diversity of viruses (coliphages) that infect bacteria and the bacteria (coliforms) that are naturally found in horse feces. The researchers propose that viral infection could be a factor that helps maintain the high diversity of bacteria in horse guts, by stopping any single type of bacteria from becoming too dominant.
About the Research
- The study focuses on the diversity of both coliphages and coliforms present in horse feces. Coliphages are viruses that infect coliform bacteria. These coliforms are part of the natural gut microbiota of horses.
- The authors used both traditional culture methods and modern molecular techniques to investigate the diversity and richness of these entities.
Key Findings
- The authors found that the number of individual bacterial strains, estimated using a mathematical method called the Chao1, is surprisingly large – about 1000 per sample. This finding implies that something prevents these strains from competing with each other and taking over the gut system in horses.
- On the other hand, the number of viral genotypes that can infect a given bacterial strain is quite limited, usually between one and three per sample.
- Interestingly, the authors also found that the sensitivity of different bacterial strains to the viruses present in the same sample overlap minimally. In other words, the viruses isolated from the same sample, but using different bacterial strains, are usually unrelated.
- As a result, the concentration (titer) of viruses as determined for different bacterial strains can differ hugely, by several orders of magnitude.
Proposed Hypothesis and Implications
- Based on these results, the authors propose that the existence of these bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) may provide a selection pressure that maintains the high level of bacterial diversity in the horse gut.
- This mechanism works by potentially restricting the opportunity for a few highly competitive bacterial strains from outcompeting other strains.
- The researchers also found that the viral titers, determined using a specific strain of E. coli, varied significantly over a 16-day period. However, this variation was not related to the total amount of coliforms present.
- This hypothesis supports the observed uncorrelated variation in coliform counts and coliphage titers, and consolidates the idea of coliphages as potential regulators of bacterial diversity.
Cite This Article
APA
Golomidova A, Kulikov E, Isaeva A, Manykin A, Letarov A.
(2007).
The diversity of coliphages and coliforms in horse feces reveals a complex pattern of ecological interactions.
Appl Environ Microbiol, 73(19), 5975-5981.
https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01145-07 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- S. N. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology RAS, prospekt 60-letiya Oktyabrya, 7/2, Moscow 117312, Russia.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Biodiversity
- Coliphages / classification
- Coliphages / isolation & purification
- Coliphages / ultrastructure
- Colony Count, Microbial
- Environmental Monitoring
- Escherichia coli / isolation & purification
- Feces / virology
- Horses / virology
- Molecular Sequence Data
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