title: Aerobic bacterial flora of the nasal cavity in Gulf of California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups.
abstract: Nasal swab samples from clinically healthy California sea lions pups (Zalophus californianus) from six different reproductive rookeries in the Gulf of California were collected to determine the type and frequency of the representative aerobic bacterial microflora of their nasal mucosa. A total of 114 samples were examined and 100 bacterial isolates were identified and typified by microbiological and biochemical standard tests. Fifty four isolates corresponded to Gram positive bacteria (54%) and 46 isolates to Gram negative bacteria (46%). Fifteen bacterial genera were identified, including Micrococcus, Arcanobacterium, Corynebacterium, Moraxella, Neisseria, Escherichia, Kurthia, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus, Brevibacillus, Bacillus, Klebsiella, Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas and Aeromonas. The most frequently isolated genera were Moraxella (24%), Micrococcus (18%), and Corynebacterium (15%). These results show the presence in the nasal cavity of sea lions of several microorganisms. Although considered part of the normal microflora, they may also be opportunistic pathogens for their hosts and may act as a potential natural sentinel of environmental changes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, 04510, México D.F., México.
authors.forename: Rigoberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hernández-Castro
authors.forename: Luary
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martínez-Chavarría
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Díaz-Avelar
authors.forename: Alma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romero-Osorio
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Godínez-Reyes
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zavala-González
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verdugo-Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology*; D046070:Sea Lions