ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbial Symbioses
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1697111
This article is part of the Research TopicUnravelling the Wildlife Gut Microbiome: The Crucial Role of Gut Microbiomes in Wildlife Conservation StrategiesView all 16 articles
Microbial diversity in the critically endangered Orinoco Crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius): influence of body site and Helicobacter spp. on microbiota composition
Provisionally accepted
Loreley Castelli1
Maria Alexandra Garcia-Amado2*Carla A. Rudolf2
Monica Contreras2Ariel S. Espinosa-Blanco3
Filipa Godoy-Vitorino4,5*- 1Instituto de Investigaciones Biologicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
- 2Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela
- 3Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas Centro de Ecologia, Caracas, Venezuela
- 4School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 5Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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The Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius), a critically endangered species native to Venezuela, continues to face ongoing threats despite existing legal protections. Understanding the microbial diversity associated with this species, particularly in captive populations, can provide valuable insights into its health and conservation. In this study, we characterized the bacterial microbiota of C. intermedius, focusing on the influence of body site and the presence of Helicobacter spp. on microbial diversity. We collected oral and cloacal samples from five captive individuals and analyzed their microbiota using high-throughput sequencing. Our results revealed that oral samples exhibited higher microbial diversity compared to cloacal samples, likely due to greater environmental exposure and diet variation. Moreover, the presence of Helicobacter spp. was associated with a marked reduction in bacterial richness and significant shifts in community composition. Helicobacter spp. positive samples were enriched in potentially pathogenic genera such as Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia spp., indicating a dysbiotic effect. Our findings suggest that body site and Helicobacter spp. presence significantly shape the microbiota of C. intermedius, with implications for both reptile health and zoonotic disease transmission. This study highlights the role of reptiles as reservoirs for Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp., underscoring the need for further research into the microbial ecology of endangered species to inform conservation and public health efforts.
Keywords: Crocodylus intermedius, bacterial community, Helicobacter spp., Campylobacterspp., Species extinction, captive, Body site
Received: 01 Sep 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Castelli, Garcia-Amado, Rudolf, Contreras, Espinosa-Blanco and Godoy-Vitorino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Maria Alexandra Garcia-Amado, magarciamado@gmail.com
Filipa Godoy-Vitorino, fgodoyvitorino@gmail.com
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