ArticleDie Naturwissenschaften2013
Preen gland removal increases plumage bacterial load but not that of feather-degrading bacteria.
Article in Die Naturwissenschaften, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the associations between preen oil bacterial, chemical and proteomic profiles of passerines.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2025Article
- Host traits rather than migration and molting strategies explain feather bacterial load in Palearctic passerines.iScience · 2024Article
- Effects of genotype, sex, and feed restriction on the biochemical composition of chicken preen gland secretions and their implications for commercial poultry production.Journal of animal science · 2023Article
- Review
- Biosafe Management ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Quantitative Interspecific Approach to the Stylosphere: Patterns of Bacteria and Fungi Abundance on Passerine Bird Feathers.Microbial ecology · 2021Article
- Exploring theCurrent zoology · 2021Article
- Experimental study of the effect of preen oil against feather bacteria in passerine birds.Oecologia · 2020Article
- Effects of Dimethyl Anthranilate-Based Repellents on Behavior, Plumage Condition, Egg Quality, and Performance in Laying Hens.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2020Article
- Plumage iridescence is associated with distinct feather microbiota in a tropical passerine.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Acquisition of Uropygial Gland Microbiome by Hoopoe Nestlings.Microbial ecology · 2018Article
- Evolutionary Biology Needs Wild Microbiomes.Frontiers in microbiology · 2017Review
- Toxic metals and associated sporulated bacteria on Andean hummingbird feathers.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2016Article
- Volume and antimicrobial activity of secretions of the uropygial gland are correlated with malaria infection in house sparrows.Parasites & vectors · 2016Article
- Article
- Article
- Uropygial gland size and composition varies according to experimentally modified microbiome in Great tits.BMC evolutionary biology · 2014Article
- Glycerophospholipid analysis of Eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) hair by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.Journal of chemical ecology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The preen gland is a holocrine sebaceous gland of the avian integument which produces an oily secretion that is spread on the plumage during preening. It has been suggested that birds may defend themselves against feather-degrading bacteria (FDB) and other potential pathogens using preen gland secretions. However, besides some in vitro studies, the in vivo bacterial inhibitory effects of the preen oil on the abundance of feather-associated bacterial species has not yet been studied in passerines. Here we tested the effect of gland removal on the abundance of FDB and other-cultivable bacterial loads (OCB) of male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Our results did not support earlier results on in vitro antibacterial activity of preen oil against FDB since the absence of the preen gland did not significantly affect their loads related to the control birds. In contrast, we found that preen gland removal led to higher loads of OCB. This result suggests that the antimicrobial spectrum of the preen oil is broader than previously thought and that, by reducing the overall feather bacterial loads, the preen gland could help birds to protect themselves against a variety of potentially harmful bacteria.
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