Seasonal assembly of skin microbiota driven by neutral and selective processes in the greater horseshoe bat

Skin microbiota play an important role in protecting bat hosts from the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which has caused dramatic bat population declines and extinctions. Recent studies have provided insights into the bacterial communities of bat skin, but variation in skin bacterial community structure in the context of the seasonal dynamics of fungal invasion, as well as the processes that drive such variation, remain largely unexplored. In this study, we characterized bat skin microbiota over the course of the bat hibernation and active season stages and used a neutral model of community ecology to determine the relative roles of neutral and selective processes in driving microbial community variation. Our results showed significant seasonal shifts in skin community structure, as well as less diverse microbiota in hibernation than in the active season. Skin microbiota were influenced by the environmental bacterial reservoir. During both the hibernation and active season stages, more than 78% of ASVs in bat skin microbiota were consistent with neutral distribution, implying that neutral processes, that is, dispersal or ecological drift contributing the most to shifts in skin microbiota. In addition, the neutral model showed that some ASVs were actively selected by the bats from the environmental bacterial reservoir, accounting for approximately 20% and 31% of the total community during hibernation and active season stages, respectively. Overall, this research provides insights into the assemblage of bat-associated bacterial communities and will aid in the development of conservation strategies against fungal disease.

Automated summary

This study investigates the seasonal dynamics and driving forces of bat skin microbiota. The results show significant seasonal shifts in skin community structure and lower microbial diversity during hibernation. Neutral processes, such as dispersal or ecological drift, have the greatest influence on skin microbiota, but environmental bacterial reservoirs also play a role.