Culture independent analysis of respiratory microbiome of houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) revealed organisms of public health significance

This paper describes the first culture independent analysis of respiratory microbiota of the endangered houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata), a migratory bird with the potential to spread pathogens over wide geographic areas. The 16S rRNA sequences showed high diversity with reads corresponding to 5 phyla; Proteobacteria (47.1%), Bacteroidetes (27.9%), Fusobacteria (14.2%), Firmicutes (7.4%) and Actinobacteria (3.42%). Most read were not assigned to lower taxa, indicating the presence of yet uncharacterized organisms. However, several organisms, including Myroides spp. MY15, Collinsella aerofaciens, Bacteroides fragillis, Enterococcus cecorum and Kurthia zopfii, are known to be associated with various clinical outcomes in other animals, including humans, indicating the zoonotic potential of houbara bustard. Further molecular and epidemiological studies are needed, particularly for Myroides spp. MY15, to understand their role in disease or health of houbara bustard as well as to determine the public health significance of these findings.