Data bat skin microbiome

Bats (Chiroptera: Mammalia) are an ecologically and evolutionarily diversified group with an unexplored skin microbiome. The bat skin microbiome could play a role in disease resistance, for example to white nose syndrome (WNS), an infection which has been devastating North American bat populations. However, fundamental knowledge of the bat skin microbiome is needed before understanding its role in health and disease resistance. In this study, we aimed to determine the relative importance of habitat and host-species on the bat skin microbiome.
We performed high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the skin microbiome of two different bat species living in captivity in two different habitats. In the first habitat, Artibeus jamaicensis and Carollia perspicillata lived together, while the second habitat contained only A. jamaicensis. The sampling protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the Montréal Biodôme and by the staff of the Granby Zoo.