Diversity and abundance of human-pathogenic fungi associated with pigeon faeces in urban environments
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Molecular Ecology
Publication Date
9-1-2017
Volume
26
Issue
17
First Page
4574
Last Page
4585
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Keywords
Columba livia, culture-independent, high-throughput sequencing, public health
Abstract
Pathogenic fungi are a growing health concern worldwide, particularly in large, densely populated cities. The dramatic upsurge of pigeon populations in cities has been implicated in the increased incidence of invasive fungal infections. In this study, we used a culture-independent, high-throughput sequencing approach to describe the diversity of clinically relevant fungi (CRF) associated with pigeon faeces and map the relative abundance of CRF across Seoul, Korea. In addition, we tested whether certain geographical, sociological and meteorological factors were significantly associated with the diversity and relative abundance of CRF. Finally, we compared the CRF diversity of fresh and old pigeon faeces to identify the source of the fungi and the role of pigeons in dispersal. Our results demonstrated that both the composition and relative abundance of CRF are unevenly distributed across Seoul. The green area ratio and the number of multiplex houses were positively correlated with species diversity, whereas wind speed and number of households were negatively correlated. The number of workers and green area ratio were positively correlated with the relative abundance of CRF, whereas wind speed was negatively correlated. Because many CRF were absent in fresh faeces, we inferred that most species cannot survive the gastrointestinal tract of pigeons and instead are likely transmitted through soil or air and use pigeon faeces as a substrate for proliferation.
DOI
10.1111/mec.14216
Print ISSN
09621083
E-ISSN
1365294X
Funding Information
This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Research as (1946-302-210). {1946-302-210}
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Lee, W. D., Fong, J. J., Eimes, J. A., & Lim, Y. W. (2017). Diversity and abundance of human-pathogenic fungi associated with pigeon faeces in urban environments. Molecular Ecology, 26(17), 4574-4585. doi: 10.1111/mec.14216