scholarly journals Host Specificity for Bacterial, Archaeal and Fungal Communities Determined for High- and Low-Microbial Abundance Sponge Species in Two Genera

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Chaib De Mares ◽  
Detmer Sipkema ◽  
Sixing Huang ◽  
Boyke Bunk ◽  
Jörg Overmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Specificity ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Sponge Species ◽  
Microbial Abundance

scholarly journals Diversity, host-specificity and stability of sponge-associated fungal communities of co-occurring sponges

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary T.H.D. Nguyen ◽  
Torsten Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Host Specificity ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Sponge Species ◽  
Fungal Community Composition ◽  
Potential Core ◽  
Community Profiling ◽  
Surrounding Seawater

Fungi play a critical role in a range of ecosystems; however, their interactions and functions in marine hosts, and particular sponges, is poorly understood. Here we assess the fungal community composition of three co-occurring sponges (Cymbastela concentrica, Scopalina sp., Tedania anhelans) and the surrounding seawater over two time points to help elucidate host-specificity, stability and potential core members, which may shed light into the ecological function of fungi in sponges. The results showed that ITS-amplicon-based community profiling likely provides a more realistic assessment of fungal diversity in sponges than cultivation-dependent approaches. The sponges studied here were found to contain phylogenetically diverse fungi (eight fungal classes were observed), including members of the family Togniniaceae and the genus Acrostalagmus, that have so far not been reported to be cultured from sponges. Fungal communities within any given sponge species were found to be highly variable compared to bacterial communities, and influenced in structure by the community of the surrounding seawater, especially considering temporal variation. Nevertheless, the sponge species studied here contained a few “variable/core” fungi that appeared in multiple biological replicates and were enriched in their relative abundance compared to seawater communities. These fungi were the same or highly similar to fungal species detected in sponges around the world, which suggests a prevalence of horizontal transmission where selectivity and enrichment of some fungi occur for those that can survive and/or exploit the sponge environment. Our current sparse knowledge about sponge-associated fungi thus indicate that fungal communities may perhaps not play as an important ecological role in the sponge holobiont compared to bacterial or archaeal symbionts.

scholarly journals Host Phylogenetic Relatedness and Soil Nutrients Shape Ectomycorrhizal Community Composition in Native and Exotic Pine Plantations

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Ning ◽  
Gregory Mueller ◽  
Louise Egerton-Warburton ◽  
Wenhua Xiang ◽  
Wende Yan
Keyword(s):  
Host Specificity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Pinus Elliottii ◽  
Pine Plantations ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Spatial Distance ◽  
Fungal Community Composition ◽  
Ecm Fungi

Exotic non-native Pinus species have been widely planted or become naturalized in many parts of the world. Pines rely on ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi mutualisms to overcome barriers to establishment, yet the degree to which host specificity and edaphic preferences influence ECM community composition remains poorly understood. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing coupled with soil analyses to investigate the effect of host plant identity, spatial distance and edaphic factors on ECM community composition in young (30-year-old) native (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) and exotic (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) pine plantations in China. The ECM fungal communities comprised 43 species with the majority belonging to the Thelephoraceae and Russulaceae. Most species were found associated with both host trees while certain native ECM taxa (Suillus) showed host specificity to the native P. massoniana. ECM fungi that are known to occur exclusively with Pinus (e.g., Rhizopogon) were uncommon. We found no significant effect of host identity on ECM communities, i.e., phylogenetically related pines shared similar ECM fungal communities. Instead, ECM fungal community composition was strongly influenced by site-specific abiotic factors and dispersal. These findings reinforce the idea that taxonomic relatedness might be a factor promoting ECM colonization in exotic pines but that shifts in ECM communities may also be context-dependent.

scholarly journals Molecular Detection of Fungal Communities in the Hawaiian Marine Sponges Suberites zeteki and Mycale armata

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (19) ◽  
pp. 6091-6101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Gao ◽  
Binglin Li ◽  
Chengchao Zheng ◽  
Guangyi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Analysis ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Sponge Species ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Marine Habitats

ABSTRACT Symbiotic microbes play a variety of fundamental roles in the health and habitat ranges of their hosts. While prokaryotes in marine sponges have been broadly characterized, the diversity of sponge-inhabiting fungi has barely been explored using molecular approaches. Fungi are an important component of many marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and they may be an ecologically significant group in sponge-microbe interactions. This study tested the feasibility of using existing fungal primers for molecular analysis of sponge-associated fungal communities. None of the eight selected primer pairs yielded satisfactory results in fungal rRNA gene or internal transcribed spacer (ITS) clone library constructions. However, 3 of 10 denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) primer sets, which were designed to preferentially amplify fungal rRNA gene or ITS regions from terrestrial environmental samples, were successfully amplified from fungal targets in marine sponges. DGGE analysis indicated that fungal communities differ among different sponge species (Suberites zeteki and Mycale armata) and also vary between sponges and seawater. Sequence analysis of DGGE bands identified 23 and 21 fungal species from each of the two sponge species S. zeteki and M. armata, respectively. These species were representatives of 11 taxonomic orders and belonged to the phyla of Ascomycota (seven orders) and Basidiomycota (four orders). Five of these taxonomic orders (Malasseziales, Corticiales, Polyporales, Agaricales, and Dothideomycetes et Chaetothyriomcetes incertae sedis) have now been identified for the first time in marine sponges. Seven and six fungal species from S. zeteki and M. armata, respectively, are potentially new species because of their low sequence identity (≤98%) with their references in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis indicated sponge-derived sequences were clustered into “marine fungus clades” with those from other marine habitats. This is the first report of molecular analysis of fungal communities in marine sponges, adding depth and dimension to our understanding of sponge-associated microbial communities.

scholarly journals Subcellular view of host–microbiome nutrient exchange in sponges: insights into the ecological success of an early metazoan–microbe symbiosis

Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meggie Hudspith ◽  
Laura Rix ◽  
Michelle Achlatis ◽  
Jeremy Bougoure ◽  
Paul Guagliardo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Sponge Species ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Waste Products ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Tracer Techniques ◽  
Microbial Symbionts ◽  
Nutritional Benefits ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Sponges are increasingly recognised as key ecosystem engineers in many aquatic habitats. They play an important role in nutrient cycling due to their unrivalled capacity for processing both dissolved and particulate organic matter (DOM and POM) and the exceptional metabolic repertoire of their diverse and abundant microbial communities. Functional studies determining the role of host and microbiome in organic nutrient uptake and exchange, however, are limited. Therefore, we coupled pulse-chase isotopic tracer techniques with nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) to visualise the uptake and translocation of 13C- and 15N-labelled dissolved and particulate organic food at subcellular level in the high microbial abundance sponge Plakortis angulospiculatus and the low microbial abundance sponge Halisarca caerulea. Results The two sponge species showed significant enrichment of DOM- and POM-derived 13C and 15N into their tissue over time. Microbial symbionts were actively involved in the assimilation of DOM, but host filtering cells (choanocytes) appeared to be the primary site of DOM and POM uptake in both sponge species overall, via pinocytosis and phagocytosis, respectively. Translocation of carbon and nitrogen from choanocytes to microbial symbionts occurred over time, irrespective of microbial abundance, reflecting recycling of host waste products by the microbiome. Conclusions Here, we provide empirical evidence indicating that the prokaryotic communities of a high and a low microbial abundance sponge obtain nutritional benefits from their host-associated lifestyle. The metabolic interaction between the highly efficient filter-feeding host and its microbial symbionts likely provides a competitive advantage to the sponge holobiont in the oligotrophic environments in which they thrive, by retaining and recycling limiting nutrients. Sponges present a unique model to link nutritional symbiotic interactions to holobiont function, and, via cascading effects, ecosystem functioning, in one of the earliest metazoan–microbe symbioses.

scholarly journals Viral ecogenomics across the Porifera

Microbiome ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecília Pascelli ◽  
Patrick W. Laffy ◽  
Emmanuelle Botté ◽  
Marija Kupresanin ◽  
Thomas Rattei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal Resistance ◽  
Metal Resistance ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Sponge Species ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Viral Ecology ◽  
Molecular Approaches ◽  
Accessory Genes ◽  
Nucleocytoplasmic Large Dna Virus

Abstract Background Viruses directly affect the most important biological processes in the ocean via their regulation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic populations. Marine sponges form stable symbiotic partnerships with a wide diversity of microorganisms and this high symbiont complexity makes them an ideal model for studying viral ecology. Here, we used morphological and molecular approaches to illuminate the diversity and function of viruses inhabiting nine sponge species from the Great Barrier Reef and seven from the Red Sea. Results Viromic sequencing revealed host-specific and site-specific patterns in the viral assemblages, with all sponge species dominated by the bacteriophage order Caudovirales but also containing variable representation from the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus families Mimiviridae, Marseilleviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Ascoviridae, Iridoviridae, Asfarviridae and Poxviridae. Whilst core viral functions related to replication, infection and structure were largely consistent across the sponge viromes, functional profiles varied significantly between species and sites largely due to differential representation of putative auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) and accessory genes, including those associated with herbicide resistance, heavy metal resistance and nylon degradation. Furthermore, putative AMGs varied with the composition and abundance of the sponge-associated microbiome. For instance, genes associated with antimicrobial activity were enriched in low microbial abundance sponges, genes associated with nitrogen metabolism were enriched in high microbial abundance sponges and genes related to cellulose biosynthesis were enriched in species that host photosynthetic symbionts. Conclusions Our results highlight the diverse functional roles that viruses can play in marine sponges and are consistent with our current understanding of sponge ecology. Differential representation of putative viral AMGs and accessory genes across sponge species illustrate the diverse suite of beneficial roles viruses can play in the functional ecology of these complex reef holobionts.

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