Characterizing the fecal microbiota and resistome of corvus brachyrhynchos (american crow) in fresno and davis, california

American Crows are common across the United States, well adapted to human habitats, and congregate in large winter roosts. We aimed to characterize the bacterial community (microbiota) of the crows’ feces, with an emphasis on human pathogens. The antibiotic resistance (AR) of the bacteria was analyzed to gain insight into the role crows may play in the spread of AR genes. Through 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic sequencing, the microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes (resistome) were determined. The core microbiota (taxa found in all crows) contained Lactobacillales (22.2% relative abundance), Enterobacteriales (21.9%) and Pseudomonadales (13.2%). Among the microbiota were human pathogens including Legionella, Camplycobacter, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Treponema, among others. The Fresno, California crows displayed antibiotic resistance genes for multiple drug efflux pumps, macrolide-lincosamidestreptogramin