Host Microbiome Richness Predicts Resistance to Disturbance by Pathogenic Infection in a Vertebrate Host

Abstract

Environmental heterogeneity is known to modulate the interactions between pathogens and hosts. However, the impact of environmental heterogeneity on the structure of host-associated microbial communities, and how these communities respond to pathogenic exposure remain poorly understood. Here we use an experimental framework to probe the links between environmental heterogeneity, skin microbiome structure and infection by the emerging pathogen Ranavirus in a vertebrate host, the European common frog (Rana temporaria). We provide evidence that environmental complexity directly influences the diversity and structure of the host skin microbiome, and that more diverse microbiomes are more resistant to perturbation associated with exposure to Ranavirus. Our data also indicate that host microbiome diversity covaries with survival following exposure to Ranavirus. Our study highlights the importance of extrinsic factors in driving host-pathogen dynamics in vertebrate hosts, and suggests that environment-mediated variation in the structure of the host microbiome may covary with observed differences in host susceptibility to disease in the wild.