Characterization of the microbiome of the invasive Asian toad in Madagascar across the expansion range and comparison with a native co-occurring speciesOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
This study characterized the skin and gut bacterial communities of the invasive Asian common toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, in Toamasina, Eastern Madagascar. The researchers compared these microbial communities to those of a co-occurring native frog species, Ptychadena mascareniensis. Sampling took place at three sites where the toad had established at different times, allowing the study to assess whether its microbiome changes across the expansion range.
Who was studied?
The subjects were skin and gut bacterial communities sampled from the invasive Asian common toad and the native frog Ptychadena mascareniensis, both collected at three sites in Toamasina, Eastern Madagascar. These sites represented different time points in the toad's invasion history. The abstract does not report a specific number of individual animals sampled.
What were the most important findings?
Microbial composition in the invasive toad did not vary among the three sites, indicating that Duttaphrynus melanostictus maintains a stable skin and gut bacterial community as it expands across Madagascar. However, significant differences were observed between the invasive toad and the native frog. The toad harbored richer and more diverse bacterial communities and carried a high percentage of unique taxa not shared with the native species, 80 percent on the skin and 52 percent in the gut.
What are the greatest implications of this study?
The stability of the toad's microbiome across its expansion range suggests it travels with a resilient, portable microbial community that may support its colonization success in new habitats. The high proportion of unique taxa carried by the toad raises the possibility that it introduces novel microbes into Malagasy ecosystems, with unknown consequences for native amphibians and the broader environment. These findings underscore the importance of tracking invader-associated microbiomes when assessing threats posed by biological invasions.