Effect of preen oil on plumage bacteria: An experimental test with the mallard

Giraudeau, Mathieu; Czirják, Gábor Á.; Duval, Christian; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Gutierrez, Claude; Guillon, Nadine; Heeb, Philipp

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2012.08.001

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Uropygial gland secretions have been suggested to regulate feather microbial communities (Shawkey et al 2003;Møller et al 2009; but see Giraudeau et al 2012). Birds in our study modified their investment in their uropygial gland according to the microorganisms they faced (Jacob et al 2014) and by this way might have regulated their feather microbial communities and avoided feather degradation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Do feather-degrading bacteria actually degrade feather colour? No significant effects of plumage microbiome modifications on feather colouration in wild great tits

Jacob

Colmas

Parthuisot

et al. 2014

Naturwissenschaften

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Parasites are known to exert selective pressures on host life history traits since the energy and nutrients needed to mount an immune response are no longer available to invest in other functions. Bird feathers harbour numerous microorganisms, some of which are able to degrade feather keratin (keratinolytic microorganisms) and affect feather integrity and colouration in vitro. Although named "feather-degrading" microorganisms, experimental evidence for their effects on feathers of free-living birds is still lacking. Here, we tested whether (i) keratinolytic microorganisms can degrade feathers in vivo and thus modify the colour of feathers during the nesting period and (ii) whether feather microorganisms have a long-term effect on the investment in colouration of newly moulted feathers. We designed treatments to either favour or inhibit bacterial growth, thus experimentally modifying plumage bacterial communities, in a wild breeding population of great tits (Parus major). Our analyses revealed no significant effects of the treatments on feather colours. Moreover, we found that differences in bacterial exposure during nesting did not significantly affect the colouration of newly moulted feathers. Our results suggest that significant feather degradation obtained during in vitro studies could have led to an overestimation of the potential of keratinolytic microorganisms to shape feather colouration in free-living birds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Do feather-degrading bacteria actually degrade feather colour? No significant effects of plumage microbiome modifications on feather colouration in wild great tits

Jacob

Colmas

Parthuisot

et al. 2014

Naturwissenschaften

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“…The uropygial gland is thus a plastic trait that might consequently vary depending on the need for microbial protection. Several studies have examined the effects of uropygial gland secretions on microorganisms [20,25,26,35] and the correlations between gland size and microbial communities on feathers [21]. However, to date no study has examined experimentally whether birds respond to their exposure to environmental microorganisms by modifying their investment in uropygial gland size and/or composition of secretions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uropygial gland size and composition varies according to experimentally modified microbiome in Great tits

et al. 2014

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BackgroundParasites exert important selective pressures on host life history traits. In birds, feathers are inhabited by numerous microorganisms, some of them being able to degrade feathers or lead to infections. Preening feathers with secretions of the uropygial gland has been found to act as an antimicrobial defence mechanism, expected to regulate feather microbial communities and thus limit feather abrasion and infections. Here, we used an experimental approach to test whether Great tits (Parus major) modify their investment in the uropygial gland in response to differences in environmental microorganisms.ResultsWe found that males, but not females, modified the size of their gland when exposed to higher bacterial densities on feathers. We also identified 16 wax esters in the uropygial gland secretions. The relative abundance of some of these esters changed in males and females, while the relative abundance of others changed only in females when exposed to greater bacterial loads on feathers.ConclusionBirds live in a bacterial world composed of commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. This study provides the first experimental evidence for modifications of investment in the defensive trait that is the uropygial gland in response to environmental microorganisms in a wild bird.

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“…In in vitro studies, preen oil inhibited feather-degrading bacteria and other cultivable bacteria isolated from plumage, suggesting preen oil has inherent antimicrobial properties [33,34]. However, these in vitro results have not been corroborated in in vivo studies [35,36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%