First characterization of cultivable skin bacteria in the synanthropic anuran Scinax x-signatus (ANURA: HYLIDAE) in northeast Brazil

Abstract Some amphibians’ species adapted to the urban ecosystem – synanthropic - can have their cryptic interactions with microorganisms altered. In the case of anurans, the skin bacterial microbiota plays a fundamental role in host protection. However, it is not known how the composition and diversity of the skin microbiota of Scinax x-signatus, a synanthropic anuran, behaves in different fragments. In this study, we describe the culturable bacteria from the skin of individuals of the anthropic anuran Scinax x-signatus by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene obtained from the amplified product of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Skin swab samples were collected from 11 S. x-signatus, 4 in a natural area and 7 in an anthropized area. Bacteria were isolated using different rich and selective culture media. A total of 20 bacterial isolates were identified, being 7 in control area and 13 in anthropized area, represented by the families Enterobacteriaceae (54.6%; n = 7), Bacillaceae (18.2%; n = 2) and Moraxellaceae (18.2%; n = 2). Among their representatives, we report Enterobacter as the most frequent genus and highlight the first report of Escherichia coli. This first report of culturable skin bacteria of Scinax x-signatus, together with the first record of E. coli, improves our knowledge of the skin microbiome of amphibians, contributing to their conservation and the maintenance of environmental health.