Characterization of culturable microbiota associated with the skin of amphibians (Anura) in the southern Andes Mountains of Ecuador

Ecuador is recognized for having a high diversity of anuran spp., which are distributed mainly south of the Andes mountains. However, due to its geographic location and accessibility, there are few studies related to these amphibians. The objective of this study was to explore the bacterial and fungal biodiversity present on the skin of wild anuran spp. in the locations of Zamora Chinchipe, Loja, Cañar Azuay, and Morona Santiago through MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. This analysis revealed the presence of 29 bacterial taxa and 9 fungal taxa, consisting mainly of: Pseudomonas chlororaphis (28%), Acinetobacter iwoffii (14%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (14%), and Hortaea werneckii (26.4%), Fusarium solani (20.5%), S yncephalastrum spp. (20.5%), respectively. Diversity varied across the five sampling locations, with geographic location proving to be a significant driver of diversity. Some of the most abundant bacterial and fungal genera have important associations with skin diseases. This work represents the first glimpse into the complex biodiversity of bacteria and fungi inhabiting this understudied substrate, and further studies will be needed to better understand bacterial and fungal biodiversity at these locations, along with the development of necessary animal protection and conservation measures.