Exploring the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) fecal microbiome, bacterial inhabitants of a worldwide pet.

BACKGROUND: Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) were originally endemic to Australia; now they are popular pets with a global distribution. It is now possible to conduct detailed molecular studies on cultivable and uncultivable bacteria that are part of the intestinal microbiome of healthy animals. These studies show that bacteria are an essential part of the metabolic capacity of animals. There are few studies on bird microbiomes and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the cockatiel microbiome.

METHODS: In this paper, we analyzed the gut microbiome from fecal samples of three healthy adult cockatiels by massive sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Additionally, we compared the cockatiel fecal microbiomes with those of other bird species, including poultry and wild birds.

RESULTS: The vast majority of the bacteria found in cockatiels were Firmicutes, while Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were poorly represented. A total of 19,280 different OTUs were detected, of which 8,072 belonged to the Erysipelotrichaceae family.

DISCUSSION: It is relevant to study cockatiel the microbiomes of cockatiels owing to their wide geographic distribution and close human contact. This study serves as a reference for cockatiel bacterial diversity. Despite the large OTU numbers, the diversity is not even and is dominated by Firmicutes of the Erysipelotrichaceae family. Cockatiels and other wild birds are almost depleted of Bacteroidetes, which happen to be abundant in poultry-related birds, and this is probably associated with the intensive human manipulation of poultry bird diets. Some probable pathogenic bacteria, such as Clostridium and Serratia, appeared to be frequent inhabitants of the fecal microbiome of cockatiels, whereas other potential pathogens were not detected.