ArticleBMC evolutionary biology2014
Uropygial gland size and composition varies according to experimentally modified microbiome in Great tits.
Article in BMC evolutionary biology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Environmental factors associated with nesting habits and age shape the composition and connection between skin and uropygial gland microbiomes of birds.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Article
- Host traits rather than migration and molting strategies explain feather bacterial load in Palearctic passerines.iScience · 2024Article
- Bacteria from the Amycolatopsis genus associated with a toxic bird secrete protective secondary metabolites.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Microbial DNA extraction method for avian feces and preen oil from diverse species.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Plumage microorganism communities of tidal marsh sparrows.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
- Uropygial gland microbiota differ between free-living and captive songbirds.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The microbial environment modulates non-genetic maternal effects on egg immunity.Animal microbiome · 2022Article
- Effects of Cage and Floor Rearing Systems on the Metabolic Components of the Uropygial Gland in Ducks.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Quantitative Interspecific Approach to the Stylosphere: Patterns of Bacteria and Fungi Abundance on Passerine Bird Feathers.Microbial ecology · 2021Article
- Exploring theCurrent zoology · 2021Article
- Female-Based Patterns and Social Function in Avian Chemical Communication.Journal of chemical ecology · 2021Review
- Autoclaving Nest-Material Remains Influences the Probability of Ectoparasitism of Nestling Hoopoes (Biology · 2020Article
- Association between louse abundance and MHC II supertypes in Galápagos mockingbirds.Parasitology research · 2020Article
- Food stress, but not experimental exposure to mercury, affects songbird preen oil composition.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2020Article
- Experimental study of the effect of preen oil against feather bacteria in passerine birds.Oecologia · 2020Article
- Great Tit (Frontiers in microbiology · 2020Article
- Plumage iridescence is associated with distinct feather microbiota in a tropical passerine.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Social odours covary with bacterial community in the anal secretions of wild meerkats.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Evolutionary Biology Needs Wild Microbiomes.Frontiers in microbiology · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundParasites exert important selective pressures on host life history traits. In birds, feathers are inhabited by numerous microorganisms, some of them being able to degrade feathers or lead to infections. Preening feathers with secretions of the uropygial gland has been found to act as an antimicrobial defence mechanism, expected to regulate feather microbial communities and thus limit feather abrasion and infections. Here, we used an experimental approach to test whether Great tits (Parus major) modify their investment in the uropygial gland in response to differences in environmental microorganisms.
resultsWe found that males, but not females, modified the size of their gland when exposed to higher bacterial densities on feathers. We also identified 16 wax esters in the uropygial gland secretions. The relative abundance of some of these esters changed in males and females, while the relative abundance of others changed only in females when exposed to greater bacterial loads on feathers.
conclusionBirds live in a bacterial world composed of commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. This study provides the first experimental evidence for modifications of investment in the defensive trait that is the uropygial gland in response to environmental microorganisms in a wild bird.
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