16S rRNA gene sequencing of Molothrus ater, Protonotaria citrea, and Geothlypis trichas nestlings. Raw sequence reads

16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V4 region from fecal samples of obligate brood parasite Brown-headed cowbird (BHCO, Molothrus ater) nestlings, and both parasitized and non-parasitized Prothonotary Warbler (PROW, Protonotaria citrea), and Common Yellowthroat (COYE, Geothlypis trichas) nestlings in 2018-2019. Study 1: BHCO and PROW nestling fecal samples opportunistically collected during 2018 and 2019 from nestling boxes at 4 discrete swamp locations in Southern Illinois, USA. BHCO nestlings were raised by PROW hosts. Study 2: BHCO and COYE nestling fecal samples opportunistically collected during 2019-2020 from nesting boxes at a single site in Kennekuk State Park in East-Central Illinois, USA. BHCO nestlings were raised by COYE, Eastern Towhee (EATO, Pipilo erythrophthalmus), Field Sparrow (FISP, Spizella pusilla), Indigo Bunting (INBU, Passerina cyanea), Northern Cardinal (NOCA, Cardinalis cardinalis), or Yellow-Breasted Chat (YBCH, Icteria virens) hosts. Goals of these studies were to investigate (1) how parasitism impacts the microbiome of host nestlings, (2) whether BHCO nestlings harbor distinct microbial communities from their host nestmates, (3) whether the presence of an interspecific nestmate influences the BHCO nestling microbiome, (4) whether BHCO nestlings raised by different host avian species harbor distinct microbial communities, (5) how sampling locality, year of sampling, and estimated nestling age influence the nestling microbiomes.

2018—2019年，针对专性育雏寄生的褐头牛鹂（Brown-headed cowbird, BHCO, *Molothrus ater*）雏鸟，以及被寄生与未被寄生的原森莺（Prothonotary Warbler, PROW, *Protonotaria citrea*）、普通黄喉地莺（Common Yellowthroat, COYE, *Geothlypis trichas*）雏鸟的粪便样本，开展了V4可变区的16S核糖体RNA（16S rRNA）基因测序。
研究1：2018—2019年，于美国伊利诺伊州南部4处独立沼泽样点的巢箱中，机会性采集BHCO与PROW雏鸟的粪便样本，其中BHCO雏鸟由PROW亲鸟抚育。
研究2：2019—2020年，于美国伊利诺伊州中东部肯纳杜克州立公园的单个样点巢箱中，机会性采集BHCO与COYE雏鸟的粪便样本。BHCO雏鸟的寄主涵盖COYE、东唧鹀（Eastern Towhee, EATO, *Pipilo erythrophthalmus*）、原野鹀（Field Sparrow, FISP, *Spizella pusilla*）、靛蓝彩鹀（Indigo Bunting, INBU, *Passerina cyanea*）、北美红雀（Northern Cardinal, NOCA, *Cardinalis cardinalis*）以及黄胸窜鸟（Yellow-Breasted Chat, YBCH, *Icteria virens*）。
本系列研究的目标为探究以下5项科学问题：（1）寄生作用如何影响寄主雏鸟的微生物组；（2）褐头牛鹂雏鸟是否与其寄主巢伴拥有独特的微生物群落；（3）异种巢伴的存在是否会影响褐头牛鹂雏鸟的微生物组；（4）由不同鸟类寄主抚育的褐头牛鹂雏鸟是否具有独特的微生物群落；（5）采样地点、采样年份以及估算的雏鸟日龄如何对雏鸟的微生物组产生影响。