Changes in the gut microbiota diversity of brown frogs (Rana dybowskii) after an antibiotic bath

BACKGROUND: Captive amphibians frequently receive antibiotic baths to control bacterial diseases. The potential collateral effect of these antibiotics on the microbiota of frogs is largely unknown. To date, studies have mainly relied on oral administration to examine the effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiota; in contrast, little is known regarding the effects of bath-applied antibiotics on the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota compositions of the gentamicin, recovery, and control groups were compared by Illumina high-throughput sequencing, and the functional profiles were analysed using Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt). Furthermore, the relationship between the structure and predicted functional composition of the gut microbiota was determined. RESULTS: The alpha diversity indices were significantly reduced by the gentamicin bath, illustrating that this treatment significantly changed the composition of the gut microbiota. After 7 days, the gut microbiota of the recovery group was not significantly different from that of the gentamicin group. Forty-four indicator taxa were selected at the genus level, comprising 42 indicators representing the control group and 2 indicators representing the gentamicin and recovery groups. Potential pathogenic bacteria of the genera Aeromonas, Citrobacter, and Chryseobacterium were significantly depleted after the gentamicin bath. There was no significant positive association between the community composition and functional composition of the gut microbiota in the gentamicin or control frogs, indicating that the functional redundancy of the gut bacterial community was high. CONCLUSIONS: Gentamicin significantly changed the structure of the gut microbiota of R. dybowskii, and the gut microbiota exhibited weak resilience. However, the gentamicin bath did not change the functional composition of the gut microbiota of R. dybowskii, and there was no significant correlation between the structural composition and the functional composition of the gut microbiota. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-021-03044-z.