The functional relevance of microbiota is a key aspect for understanding host-microbiota interactions. Mammalian skin harbours a complex consortium of beneficial microorganisms known to provide health and immune-boosting advantages. As yet, however, little is known about functional microbial communities on avian feathers, including their co-evolution with the host and factors determining feather microbiota (FM) diversity. Using 16S rRNA profiling, we investigated how host species identity, phylogeny and geographic origin determine FM in free-living passerine birds. Moreover, we estimated the relative abundance of bacteriocin-producing bacteria (BPB) and keratinolytic feather damaging bacteria (FDB) and evaluated the ability of BPB to affect FM diversity and relative abundance of FDB. Host species identity was associated with feather bacterial communities more strongly than host geographic origin. FM functional properties differed in terms of estimated BPB and FDB relative abundance, with both showing interspecific variation. FM diversity was negatively associated with BPB relative abundance across species, whereas BPB and FDB relative abundance was positively correlated. This study provides the first thorough evaluation of antimicrobial peptides-producing bacterial communities inhabiting the feather integument, including their likely potential to mediate niche-competition and to be associated with functional species-specific feather microbiota in avian hosts.

3rd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Ruská 87 100 00 Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Department of Animal Science Czech University of Life Sciences Kamýcká 129 165 00 Prague Suchdol Czech Republic

Faculty of Science Department of Zoology Charles University Viničná 7 128 44 Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Science Department of Zoology Palacký University 17 listopadu 50 771 46 Olomouc Czech Republic

Home address Gočárova třída 542 12 500 02 Hradec Králové Czech Republic

Institute of Vertebrate Biology Czech Academy of Sciences Květná 8 603 65 Brno Czech Republic

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Host traits rather than migration and molting strategies explain feather bacterial load in Palearctic passerines

Great Tit (Parus major) Uropygial Gland Microbiomes and Their Potential Defensive Roles

Plumage iridescence is associated with distinct feather microbiota in a tropical passerine