Exploring the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) fecal microbiome, bacterial inhabitants of a worldwide pet

Abstract

BackgroundCockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) were originally endemic to Australia; now, they are popular pets with a global distribution. It is now possible to conduct detailed molecular studies on cultivable and uncultivable bacteria that are part of the intestinal microbiome of healthy animals. These studies show that bacteria are an essential part of the metabolic capacity of animals. There are few studies on bird microbiomes, and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the cockatiel microbiome.MethodsIn this paper, we analyzed the gut microbiome from fecal samples of three healthy adult cockatiels by massive sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Additionally, we compared the cockatiel fecal microbiomes with those of other bird species, including poultry and wild birds.ResultsThe vast majority of the bacteria found in cockatiels wereFirmicutes, whileProteobacteriaandBacteroideteswere poorly represented. A total of 19,280 different OTUs were detected, of which 8,072 belonged to theErysipelotrichaceaefamily.DiscussionIt is relevant to study cockatiel the microbiomes of cockatiels owing to their wide geographic distribution and close human contact. This study serves as a reference for cockatiel bacterial diversity. Despite the large OTU numbers, the diversity is not even and is dominated byFirmicutesof theErysipelotrichaceaefamily. Cockatiels and other wild birds are almost depleted ofBacteroidetes, which happen to be abundant in poultry-related birds, and this is probably associated with the intensive human manipulation of poultry bird diets. Some probable pathogenic bacteria, such asClostridiumandSerratia,appeared to be frequent inhabitants of the fecal microbiome of cockatiels, whereas other potential pathogens were not detected.