scholarly journals Variability in Host Specificity and Functional Potential of Antarctic Sponge-Associated Bacterial Communities

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Cristi ◽  
Génesis Parada-Pozo ◽  
Felipe Morales-Vicencio ◽  
César A. Cárdenas ◽  
Nicole Trefault

Sponge-associated microorganisms are essential for sponge survival. They play an important role in recycling nutrients and, therefore, in the maintenance of the ecosystem. These microorganisms are diverse, species-specific, and different from those in the surrounding seawater. Bacterial sponge symbionts have been extensively studied in the tropics; however, little is known about these microorganisms in sponges from high-latitude environments. Sponges can cover up to 80% of the benthos in Antarctica and are crucial architects for the marine food web. In this study, we present analyses of the bacterial symbionts of three sponges: Haliclona (Rhizoniera) sp., Hymeniacidon torquata, and Isodictya kerguelenensis from the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) with the aim to determine variations on the specificity of the bacteria–sponge interactions and potential signatures on their predicted functional profiles. We use high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 30 sponge individuals inhabiting South Bay (Palmer Archipelago, WAP) to describe their microbiome taxonomy and diversity and predict potential functional profiles based on this marker gene. Our work shows similar bacterial community composition profiles among the same sponge species, although the symbiotic relationship is not equally conserved among the three Antarctic sponges. The number of species-specific core operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of these Antarctic sponges was low, with important differences between the total abundance accounted for these OTUs. Only eight OTUs were shared between the three sponge species. Analyses of the functional potential revealed that despite the high host–symbiont specificity, the inferred functions are conserved among these microbiomes, although with differences in the abundance of specific functions. H. torquata showed the highest level of intra-specificity and a higher potential of pathways related to energy metabolism, metabolisms of terpenoids and polyketides, and biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites. Overall, this work shows variations in the specificity of the sponge-associated bacterial communities, differences in how hosts and symbionts establish their relations, and in their potential functional capabilities.

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost T.P. Verhoeven ◽  
Suzanne C. Dufour

While sponges are generally known to host a wide range of microbial associates, the composition and specificity of the microbial communities in carnivorous sponges are poorly understood. We used 16S rRNA gene data to examine and compare the bacterial communities associated with distinct anatomical regions of two carnivorous sponge species, Chondrocladia grandis and Cladorhiza oxeata, sampled from Baffin Bay and the Gulf of Maine (C. grandis only). The two sponge species hosted distinct bacterial communities, with taxonomic diversity being greater in C. grandis. Some bacterial taxa (including particular oligotypes) were consistently recovered in multiple host individuals from geographically distant sites, suggesting specificity. Within C. grandis, certain bacterial taxa were enriched in particular anatomical regions, suggesting functional roles in carnivorous sponge metabolism or other biological processes. Stable isotope analysis provided no evidence for methanotrophy in the sponges examined, but Gulf of Maine C. grandis might incorporate 13C-depleted carbon via the bacteria-mediated heterotrophic degradation of other hydrocarbons. Overall, our results demonstrate that the carnivorous sponge microbiome appears host species specific and stable, even over large geographical areas. The observed differences in bacterial community composition and diversity between C. grandis and C. oxeata may reflect differences in trophic adaptability, specialization, and overall reliance on associated bacteria.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Cermak ◽  
Manoshi Sen Datta ◽  
Arolyn Conwill

AbstractSimple synthetic bacterial communities are powerful tools for studying microbial ecology and evolution, as they enable rapid iteration between controlled laboratory experiments and theoretical modeling. However, their utility is hampered by the lack of fast, inexpensive, and accurate methods for quantifying bacterial community composition. For instance, while next-generation amplicon sequencing can be very accurate, high costs (>$30 per sample) and turnaround times (>1 month) limit the nature and pace of experiments. Here, we introduce a new approach for quantifying composition in synthetic bacterial communities based on Sanger sequencing. First, for a given community, we PCR-amplify a universal marker gene (here, the 16S rRNA gene), which yields a mixture of amplicons. Second, we sequence this amplicon mixture in a single Sanger sequencing reaction, which produces a “mixed” electropherogram with contributions from each community member. We also sequence each community member’s marker gene individually to generate “individual” electropherograms. Third, we fit the mixed electropherogram as a linear combination of time-warped individual electropherograms, thereby allowing us to estimate the fractional amplicon abundance of each strain within the community. Importantly, our approach accounts for retention-time variability in electrophoretic signals, which is crucial for accurate compositional estimates. Using synthetic communities of marine bacterial isolates, we show that this approach yields accurate and reproducible abundance estimates for two-, four-, and seven-strain bacterial communities. Furthermore, this approach can provide results within one day and costs ~$5 USD per sample. We envision this approach will enable new insights in microbial ecology by increasing the number of samples that can be analyzed and enabling faster iteration between experiments and theory. We have implemented our method in a free and open-source R package called CASEU (“Compositional Analysis by Sanger Electropherogram Unmixing”), available at https://bitbucket.org/DattaManoshi/caseu.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keqiang Shao ◽  
Xin Yao ◽  
Zhaoshi Wu ◽  
Xingyu Jiang ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bacterial community play a key role in environmental and ecological processes in river ecosystems. Rivers are used as receiving body for treated and untreated urban wastewaters that brings high loads of sewage and excrement bacteria. However, little is known about the bacterial community structure and functional files in the rivers around the eutrophic Chaohu Lake, the fifth largest freshwater lake in China, has been subjected to severe eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms over the past few decades. Therefore, understanding the taxonomic and functional compositions of bacterial communities in the river will contribute to understanding aquatic microbial ecology. The main aims were to (1) examine the structure of bacterial communities and functional profiles in this system; (2) find the environmental factors of bacterial community variations. Results We studied 88 sites at rivers in the Chaohu Lake basin, and determined bacterial communities using Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16 S rRNA gene, and predicted functional profiles using PICRUSt2. A total of 3,390,497 bacterial 16 S rRNA gene sequences were obtained, representing 17 phyla, and 424 genera; The dominant phyla present in all samples were Bacteroidetes (1.4-82.50 %), followed by Proteobacteria (12.6–97.30 %), Actinobacteria (0.1–17.20 %). Flavobacterium was the most numerous genera, and accounted for 0.12–80.34 % of assigned 16 S reads, followed by Acinetobacter (0.33–49.28 %). Other dominant bacterial genera including Massilia (0.06–25.40 %), Psychrobacter (0-36.23 %), Chryseobacterium (0.01–22.86 %), Brevundimonas (0.01–12.82 %), Pseudomonas (0-59.73 %), Duganella (0.08–23.37 %), Unidentified Micrococcaceae (0-8.49 %). The functional profiles of the bacterial populations indicated an relation with many human diseases, including infectious diseases. Overall results, using the β diversity measures, coupled with heatmap and RDA showed that there were spatial variations in the bacterial community composition at river sites, and Chemical oxygen demand (CODMn) and (NH4+ )were the dominant environmental drivers affecting the bacterial community variance. Conclusions The high proportion of the opportunistic pathogens (Acinetobacter, Massilia, Brevundimonas) indicated that the discharge of sewage without adequate treatment into the rivers around Chaohu Lake. We propose that these bacteria could be more effective bioindicators for long-term sewage monitoring in eutrophic lakes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (20) ◽  
pp. 7207-7216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi F. Montalvo ◽  
Russell T. Hill

ABSTRACTThe giant barrel spongesXestospongiamutaandXestospongiatestudinariaare ubiquitous in tropical reefs of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, respectively. They are key species in their respective environments and are hosts to diverse assemblages of bacteria. These two closely related sponges from different oceans provide a unique opportunity to examine the evolution of sponge-associated bacterial communities. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene sequences fromX.mutaandX.testudinariashowed little divergence between the two species. A detailed analysis of the bacterial communities associated with these sponges, comprising over 900 full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealed remarkable similarity in the bacterial communities of the two species. Both sponge-associated communities include sequences found only in the twoXestospongiaspecies, as well as sequences found also in other sponge species and are dominated by three bacterial groups,Chloroflexi,Acidobacteria, andActinobacteria. While these groups consistently dominate the bacterial communities revealed by 16S rRNA gene-based analysis of sponge-associated bacteria, the depth of sequencing undertaken in this study revealed clades of bacteria specifically associated with each of the twoXestospongiaspecies, and also with the genusXestospongia, that have not been found associated with other sponge species or other ecosystems. This study, comparing the bacterial communities associated with closely related but geographically distant sponge hosts, gives new insight into the intimate relationships between marine sponges and some of their bacterial symbionts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie P Glaeser ◽  
Iulian Gabur ◽  
Hossein Haghighi ◽  
Jens-Ole Bartz ◽  
Peter Kämpfer ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Associations of endophytic bacterial community composition of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) with quantitative resistance against the soil-borne fungal pathogen Verticillium longisporum was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in roots and hypocotyls of four plant lines with contrasting genetic composition in regard to quantitative resistance reactions. The plant compartment was found to be the dominating driving factor for the specificity of bacterial communities in healthy plants. Furthermore, V. longisporum infection triggered a stabilization of phylogenetic group abundance in replicated samples suggesting a host genotype-specific selection. Genotype-specific associations with bacterial phylogenetic group abundance were identified by comparison of plant genotype groups (resistant versus susceptible) and treatment groups (healthy versus V. longisporum-infected) allowing dissection into constitutive and induced directional association patterns. Relative abundance of Flavobacteria, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium and Cellvibrio was associated with resistance/susceptibility. Relative abundance of Flavobacteria and Cellvibrio was increased in resistant genotypes according to their known ecological functions. In contrast, a higher relative abundance of Pseudomonas and Rhizobium, which are known to harbor many species with antagonistic properties to fungal pathogens, was found to be associated with susceptibility, indicating that these groups do not play a major role in genetically controlled resistance of oilseed rape against V. longisporum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Vadim Yu Kryukov ◽  
Elena Kosman ◽  
Oksana Tomilova ◽  
Olga Polenogova ◽  
Ulyana Rotskaya ◽  
...  

Various insect bacterial associates are involved in pathogeneses caused by entomopathogenic fungi. The outcome of infection (fungal growth or decomposition) may depend on environmental factors such as temperature. The aim of this study was to analyze the bacterial communities and immune response of Galleria mellonella larvae injected with Cordyceps militaris and incubated at 15 °C and 25 °C. We examined changes in the bacterial CFUs, bacterial communities (Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA gene sequencing) and expression of immune, apoptosis, ROS and stress-related genes (qPCR) in larval tissues in response to fungal infection at the mentioned temperatures. Increased survival of larvae after C. militaris injection was observed at 25 °C, although more frequent episodes of spontaneous bacteriosis were observed at this temperature compared to 15 °C. We revealed an increase in the abundance of enterococci and enterobacteria in the midgut and hemolymph in response to infection at 25 °C, which was not observed at 15 °C. Antifungal peptide genes showed the highest expression at 25 °C, while antibacterial peptides and inhibitor of apoptosis genes were strongly expressed at 15 °C. Cultivable bacteria significantly suppressed the growth of C. militaris. We suggest that fungi such as C. militaris may need low temperatures to avoid competition with host bacterial associates.


mSystems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Turon ◽  
Maria J. Uriz ◽  
Daniel Martin

ABSTRACTSponges establish tight associations with both micro- and macroorganisms. However, while studies on sponge microbiomes are numerous, nothing is currently known about the microbiomes of sponge-associated polychaetes and their relationships with those of their host sponges. We analyzed the bacterial communities of symbiotic polychaetes (Haplosyllisspp.) and their host sponges (Clathria reinwardti,Amphimedon paraviridis,Neofibularia hartmani, andAaptos suberitoides) to assess the influence of the sponges on the polychaete microbiomes. We identified both eukaryote partners by molecular (16S and COI genes) and morphological features, and we identified their microbial communities by high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (V4 region). We unravel the existence of sixHaplosyllisspecies (five likely undescribed) associated at very high densities with the study sponge species in Nha Trang Bay (central Vietnam). A single polychaete species inhabitedA. paraviridisand was different from the single species that inhabitedA. suberitoides. Conversely, two different polychaete species were found inC. reinwardtiandN. hartmani, depending on the two host locations. Regardless of the host sponge, polychaete microbiomes were species specific, which is a widespread feature in marine invertebrates. More than half of the polychaete bacteria were also found in the host sponge microbiome but at contrasting abundances. Thus, the associated polychaetes seemed to be able to select, incorporate, and enrich part of the sponge microbiome, a selection that appears to be polychaete species specific. Moreover, the bacterial diversity is similar in both eukaryotic partners, which additionally confirms the influence of food (host sponge) on the structure of the polychaete microbiome.IMPORTANCEThe symbiotic lifestyle represents a fundamental cryptic contribution to the diversity of marine ecosystems. Sponges are ideal targets to improve understanding the symbiotic relationships from evolutionary and ecological points of view, because they are the most ancient metazoans on earth, are ubiquitous in the marine benthos, and establish complex symbiosis with both prokaryotes and animals, which in turn also harbor their own bacterial communities. Here, we study the microbiomes of sponge-polychaete associations and confirm that polychaetes feed on their host sponges. The study worms select and enrich part of the sponge microbiome to shape their own species-specific bacterial communities. Moreover, worm microbiome diversity runs parallel to that of its food host sponge. Considering our results on symbiotic polychaetes and previous studies on fishes and mammals, diet appears to be an important source of bacteria for animals to shape their species-specific microbiomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 732-743
Author(s):  
Huan Qu ◽  
Yanjie Huang ◽  
Yinghao Shi ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Shenglong Wu ◽  
...  

This study investigated the use for bamboo vinegar powder as an antibiotic alternative in the diet of growing–finishing pigs by examining their digestive bacterial communities. Forty-five Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire growing–finishing pigs were randomly allocated to five diet groups: 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, or 1.5% bamboo vinegar levels and antibiotics. After 37 days, the digesta in duodenum of four pigs from each treatment were analyzed for their bacterial community compositions using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The addition of 1.5% bamboo vinegar powder had an effect on the intestinal microflora most similar to that of antibiotics, indicating its potential to promote the growth and development of finishing pigs. We also found the 1.5% bamboo vinegar powder group to have an increased abundance of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes compared with the other bamboo vinegar powder groups, which may enhance the ability of the host to absorb food energy and store more body fat. Additionally, the effects of bamboo vinegar powder on promoting the abundances of Lactobacillus and Thalassospira and on inhibiting Streptococcus and Prevotella growth revealed it may play an important role in animal production. Moreover, functional predictions of microbes via PICRUSt indicated that feed supplemented with 1.5% bamboo vinegar powder could promote many vital metabolic pathways.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1526
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Yang ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Luying Sun ◽  
Xiaoning Qi ◽  
Fengbin Song ◽  
...  

Conservative agricultural practices have been adopted to improve soil quality and maintain crop productivity. An efficient intercropping of maize with mushroom has been developed in Northeast China. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of planting patterns on the diversity and structure of the soil bacterial communities at a 0–20 cm depth in the black soil zone of Northeast China. The experiment consisted of monoculture of maize and mushroom, and intercropping in a split-plot arrangement. The characteristics of soil microbial communities were performed by 16S rRNA gene amplicom sequencing. The results showed that intercropping increased soil bacterial richness and diversity compared with maize monoculture. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Saccharibacteria and Planctomycetes were significantly higher, whereas Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were lower in intercropping than maize monoculture. Redundancy analysis suggested that pH, NO3−-N and NH4+-N contents had a notable effect on the structure of the bacterial communities. Moreover, intercropping significantly increased the relative abundance of carbohydrate metabolism pathway functional groups. Overall, these findings demonstrated that intercropping of maize with mushroom strongly impacts the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as the diversity and structure of the soil bacterial communities, suggesting this is a sustainable agricultural management practice in Northeast China.


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