New kākāpō publication!

Check out our latest paper in a special issue of the New Zealand Journal of Zoology on the

Elusive aetiology of exudative cloacitis in the critically endangered kākāpō

Exudative cloacitis is an inflammatory syndrome of the kākāpō cloaca which causes crusty lesions and can lead to serious secondary infections. Though much research over the last decade has tried to uncover the underlying cause (or aetiology) of the syndrome, the answer remains elusive. In this study we used meta-omics to explore the viral and bacterial communities of healthy and affected kākāpō. Though we could not identify a pathogenic agent common to all affected birds, we did uncover some interesting new leads regarding the potential role of bacteria such as Clostridium in severe cases of exudative cloacitis. We also identified a number of active bacterial genes that are usually expressed under stressful environmental conditions in affected birds, indicating that microbiome may be altered by exudative cloacitis. Check out the link to read more about it!