Dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities associated with eggshells during incubation Stephanie Grizard1,2, Francisco Dini-Andreote2, B. Irene Tieleman1 & Joana F. Salles2 1Department of Animal Ecology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen NL-9747 AG, The Netherlands 2Department of Microbial Ecology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen NL-9747 AG, The Netherlands Keywords Abstract Birds, eggshells, incubation, microbes, molecular tools. Microorganisms are closely associated with eggs and may play a determinant role in embryo survival. Yet, the majority of studies focusing on this association Correspondence relied on culture-based methodology, eventually leading to a skewed assessment Stephanie Grizard, PO Box 11103, Groningen of microbial communities. By targeting the 16S rRNA gene and internal tran- 9700 CC, The Netherlands. Tel: +31(0)50- scribed spacer (ITS) region, we, respectively, described bacterial and fungal 363-2169; E-mail:
[email protected] communities on eggshells of the homing pigeon Columba livia. We explored their structure, abundance, and composition. Firstly, we showed that sampling Funding Information This work was supported by a Vidi grant technique affected the outcome of the results. While broadly used, the egg from the Netherlands Organisation for swabbing procedure led to a lower DNA extraction efficiency and provided dif- Scientific Research (to BIT). ferent profiles of bacterial communities than those based on crushed eggshell pieces. Secondly, we observed shifts in bacterial and fungal communities during Received: 28 January 2014; Accepted: 30 incubation. At late incubation, bacterial communities showed a reduction in January 2014 diversity, while their abundance increased, possibly due to the competitive advantage of some species.