title: Occurrence of viable, red-pigmented haloarchaea in the plumage of captive flamingoes.
abstract: Flamingoes (Phoenicopterus spp.) whose plumage displays elegant colors, inhabit warm regions close to the ocean throughout the world. The pink or reddish color of their plumage originates from carotenoids ingested from carotenoid-abundant food sources, since flamingoes are unable to synthesize these compounds de novo. In this study, viable red-colored archaeal strains classified as extremely halophilic archaea (i.e., haloarchaea) and belonging to the genera Halococcus and Halogeometricum were isolated from the plumage of flamingoes in captivity. Detailed analysis for haloarchaeal community structure in flamingo feathers based on metagenomic data identified several haloarchaeal genera and unclassified sequences of the class Halobacteria at the genus level. Carotenoid pigment analyses showed that a bacterioruberin precursor carotenoid in haloarchaea was identical to one of the pigments found in flamingo plumage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of viable extremophilic archaea in avian plumage, thus contributing to our understanding of the ecology of haloarchaea. The potential influence of haloarchaea as an environmental factor determining avian plumage coloration should be investigated in further studies.
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung June
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: In-Tae
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Seo
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Seon
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: World Institute of Kimchi, Gwangju 503-360, Korea.
authors.forename: Hae-Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Kyu
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Gut Microbiome, Korea Food Research Institute, Sungnam 463-746, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Ji
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Seoul Zoo, Seoul Grand Park, Gwacheon 427-702, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Rae
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rho
authors.affiliation: Seoul Zoo, Seoul Grand Park, Gwacheon 427-702, Korea.
authors.forename: Mi Lyu
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Soon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: World Institute of Kimchi, Gwangju 503-360, Korea.
authors.forename: Hak-Jong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Gut Microbiome, Korea Food Research Institute, Sungnam 463-746, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Do
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Biological Disaster Analysis Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Woon
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Roh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001105:Archaea / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D001717:Birds / Q000382:microbiology*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000737:chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005241:Feathers / Q000382:microbiology*; D054892:Metagenome; D056186:Metagenomics; D064307:Microbiota; D010802:Phylogeny; D010858:Pigmentation; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000737:chemistry; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D002338:Carotenoids