scholarly journals Not That Close to Mommy: Horizontal Transmission Seeds the Microbiome Associated with the Marine Sponge Plakina cyanorosea

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1978
Author(s):  
Bruno F. R. Oliveira ◽  
Isabelle R. Lopes ◽  
Anna L. B. Canellas ◽  
Guilherme Muricy ◽  
Alan D. W. Dobson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Samples ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Operational Taxonomic Unit ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Dominant Member ◽  
Strict Core ◽  
Surrounding Seawater ◽  
Unique Otus

Marine sponges are excellent examples of invertebrate–microbe symbioses. In this holobiont, the partnership has elegantly evolved by either transmitting key microbial associates through the host germline and/or capturing microorganisms from the surrounding seawater. We report here on the prokaryotic microbiota during different developmental stages of Plakina cyanorosea and their surrounding environmental samples by a 16S rRNA metabarcoding approach. In comparison with their source adults, larvae housed slightly richer and more diverse microbial communities, which are structurally more related to the environmental microbiota. In addition to the thaumarchaeal Nitrosopumilus, parental sponges were broadly dominated by Alpha- and Gamma-proteobacteria, while the offspring were particularly enriched in the Vibrionales, Alteromonodales, Enterobacterales orders and the Clostridia and Bacteroidia classes. An enterobacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) was the dominant member of the strict core microbiota. The most abundant and unique OTUs were not significantly enriched amongst the microbiomes from host specimens included in the sponge microbiome project. In a wider context, Oscarella and Plakina are the sponge genera with higher divergence in their associated microbiota compared to their Homoscleromorpha counterparts. Our results indicate that P. cyanorosea is a low microbial abundance sponge (LMA), which appears to heavily depend on the horizontal transmission of its microbial partners that likely help the sponge host in the adaptation to its habitat.

scholarly journals Microbial Diversity and Putative Diazotrophy in High- and Low-Microbial-Abundance Mediterranean Sponges

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (17) ◽  
pp. 5683-5693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Ribes ◽  
Claudia Dziallas ◽  
Rafel Coma ◽  
Lasse Riemann
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Ratio ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Sponge Tissue ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Surrounding Water ◽  
Nitrogenase Genes ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Benthic Pelagic Coupling ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACTMicrobial communities associated with marine sponges carry out nutrient transformations essential for benthic-pelagic coupling; however, knowledge about their composition and function is still sparse. We evaluated the richness and diversity of prokaryotic assemblages associated with three high-microbial-abundance (HMA) and three low-microbial-abundance (LMA) sympatric Mediterranean sponges to address their stability and uniqueness. Moreover, to examine functionality and because an imbalance between nitrogen ingestion and excretion has been observed for some of these species, we sequenced nitrogenase genes (nifH) and measured N2fixation. The prokaryotic communities in the two sponge types did not differ in terms of richness, but the highest diversity was found in HMA sponges. Moreover, the discrete composition of the communities in the two sponge types relative to that in the surrounding seawater indicated that horizontal transmission and vertical transmission affect the microbiomes associated with the two sponge categories.nifHgenes were found in all LMA species and sporadically in one HMA species, and about half of thenifHgene sequences were common between the different sponge species and were also found in the surrounding water, suggesting horizontal transmission.15N2-enriched incubations showed that N2fixation was measurable in the water but was not associated with the sponges. Also, the analysis of the isotopic ratio of15N to14N in sponge tissue indicated that N2fixation is not an important source of nitrogen in these Mediterranean sponges. Overall, our results suggest that compositional and functional features differ between the prokaryotic communities associated with HMA and LMA sponges, which may affect sponge ecology.

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.

Unique cultural methods used to detect viable cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in environmental samples

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 363-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Slifko ◽  
D. E. Friedman ◽  
J. B. Rose ◽  
S. J. Upton ◽  
W. Jakubowski
Keyword(s):  
Cryptosporidium Parvum ◽  
Environmental Samples ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Protozoan Parasite ◽  
Culture Methods ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Cultural Methods ◽  
Severe Gastroenteritis ◽  
Cell Culture Methods

Cryptosporidium parvum is an infectious enteric protozoan parasite that causes waterborne disease, severe gastroenteritis and is associated with high mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Detection of oocysts in water is very difficult and current methodologies do not determine viability. This project has focused on low level detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in environmental samples using a unique cultural method. Previously, cell culture methods have been used to assess the developmental stages of Cryptosporidium; however, no cultural methods have been employed with environmental samples. The percentage of viable oocysts can be estimated by detecting intracellular developmental stages of the parasite using fluorescently labelled antibodies. Other methods are not capable of low level detection or high sensitivity. We are evaluating detection of single foci of infection, indicating that one of the four sporozoites released from the viable oocyst has infected a single cell.

Niche structure of marine sponges from temperate hard-bottom habitats within Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 559-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Freeman ◽  
Cole G. Easson ◽  
David M. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Latitudinal Gradients ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Ecological Benefit ◽  
Relative Placement ◽  
Metabolic Capability ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Isotopic Space

Many species of marine sponges on tropical reefs host abundant and diverse symbiont communities capable of varied metabolic pathways. While such communities may confer a nutritional benefit to some hosts (termed High Microbial Abundance (HMA) sponges), other sympatric species host only sparse symbiont communities (termed Low Microbial Abundance (LMA) sponges) and obtain a majority of their C and N from local sources. Sponge communities are widespread across large latitudinal gradients, however, and recent evidence suggests that these symbioses may also extend beyond the tropics. We investigated the role that symbionts play in the ecology of sponges from the temperate, hard-bottom reefs of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary by calculating the niche size (as standard ellipse area (SEAc)) and assessing the relative placement of five HMA and four LMA sponge species within bivariate (δ13C and δ15N) isotopic space. Although photosymbiont abundance was low across most of these species, sponges were widespread across isotopic niche space, implying that microbial metabolism confers an ecological benefit to temperate sponges by expanding host metabolic capability. To examine how these associations vary across a latitudinal gradient, we also compared the relative placement of temperate and tropical conspecifics within isotopic space. Surprisingly, shifts in sponge δ13C and δ15N values between these regions suggest a reduced reliance on symbiont-derived nutrients in temperate sponges compared with their tropical conspecifics. Despite this, symbiotic sponges in temperate systems likely have a competitive advantage, allowing them to grow and compete for space within these habitats.

scholarly journals The Tissue Tropisms and Transstadial Transmission of a Rickettsia Endosymbiont in the Highland Midge, Culicoides impunctatus (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Pilgrim ◽  
Stefanos Siozios ◽  
Matthew Baylis ◽  
Gregory D. D. Hurst
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Transmission ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Biting Midges ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Suspensory Ligament ◽  
Transstadial Transmission ◽  
Tissue Tropisms

AbstractRickettsia are a group of intracellular bacteria which can manipulate host reproduction and alter sensitivity to natural enemy attack in a diverse range of arthropods. The maintenance of Rickettsia endosymbionts in insect populations can be achieved through both vertical and horizontal transmission routes. For example, the presence of the symbiont in the follicle cells and salivary glands of Bemisia whiteflies allows Belli group Rickettsia transmission via the germline and plants, respectively. However, the transmission routes of other Rickettsia, such as those in the Torix group of the genus, remain underexplored. Through fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) screening, this study describes the pattern of Torix Rickettsia tissue tropisms in the highland midge, Culicoides impunctatus (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Of note is high intensity of infection of the ovarian suspensory ligament, suggestive of a novel germline targeting strategy. Additionally, localisation of the symbiont in tissues of several developmental stages suggests transstadial transmission is a major route of ensuring maintenance of Rickettsia within C. impunctatus populations. Aside from providing insights into transmission strategies, Rickettsia presence in the fat body of larvae indicates potential host fitness and vector capacity impacts to be investigated in the future.Importance StatementMicrobial symbionts of disease vectors have garnered recent attention due to their ability to alter vectorial capacity. Their consideration as a means of arbovirus control depends on symbiont vertical transmission which leads to spread of the bacteria through a population. Previous work has identified a Rickettsia symbiont present in several vector species of biting midges (Culicoides spp.), however, symbiont transmission strategies and host effects remain underexplored. In this study, we describe the presence of Rickettsia in the ovarian suspensory ligament and the ovarian epithelial sheath of Culicoides impunctatus. Infection of these organs suggest the connective tissue surrounding developing eggs is important for ensuring vertical transmission of the symbiont in midges and possibly other insects. Additionally, our results indicate Rickettsia localisation in the fat body of Culicoides impunctatus. As viruses spread by midges often replicate in the fat body, this implies possible vector competence effects to be further investigated.

scholarly journals Rapid establishment of the non-indigenous ascidian Styela plicata and its associated bacteria in marinas and fishing harbors along the Mediterranean coast of Israel

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 324 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. NOVAK ◽  
S. LÓPEZ-LEGENTIL ◽  
E. SIERADZKI ◽  
N. SHENKAR
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Associated Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Phyla ◽  
Styela Plicata ◽  
Solitary Ascidian ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Surrounding Seawater

Styela plicata (Lesueur, 1823) (Tunicata; Stolidobranchia; Styelidae) is a solitary ascidian with a global distribution. Until recently it had not been observed along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, but is now to be found in many harbors attached to suspended ropes and other artificial structures. In order to monitor the populations of S. plicata, we surveyed eight harbors along the Israeli Mediterranean coast. Our results show that the condition and maintenance of each harbor significantly affected the presence of S. plicata. We also characterized the microbial communities in the tunic of three individuals using 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing and compared them to those in the surrounding seawater, in order to determine whether the symbiotic bacteria may contribute to the successful establishment of this ascidian species. We found 15 bacterial phyla in total, of which 14 were present in the animal hosts: 6 were present in all of the individuals and 4 in two of the individuals. Three of the 15 phyla observed were absent in the surrounding seawater. The high variability among the three hosts suggests a mechanism of horizontal transmission and may play a role in the process of invading new and less tolerant niches.

scholarly journals Horizontal transmission ofCampylobacter jejuniamongst broiler chicks: experimental studies

1990 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Shanker ◽  
A. Lee ◽  
T. C. Sorrell
Keyword(s):  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Environmental Samples ◽  
Gradual Increase ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Contaminated Water ◽  
Broiler Chicks ◽  
And Control ◽  
Culture Negative ◽  
Caecal Microbiota

SUMMARYHorizontal transmission ofCampylobacter jejuniwas investigated in campylobactor–free broiler chicks. One hundred and twenty chicks housed individually, were provided with water containing 102−109c.f.u./mlC. jejuni. Colonization was rapid [47 of 73 (64 %) positive cloacal cultures within 3 days and 65 of 73 (89 %) within 7 days], depenedent onC. jejuni–contaminated water or colonized seeder chicks. Transmission occurred in 2–7 days concurrent with a gradual increase ofC. jejuniin litter, water and feed. Environmental samples were culture–negative within 3 days following removal of colonized chicks. Treatment of 1–day–old chicks with adult caecal microbiota did not affect colonization. Treated and control chicks were allC. jejuni–positive within 3 days of seeder challenge.

scholarly journals Diversity of tryptophan halogenases in sponges of the genus Aplysina

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Gutleben ◽  
Jasper J Koehorst ◽  
Kyle McPherson ◽  
Shirley Pomponi ◽  
René H Wijffels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Protein Sequences ◽  
Operational Taxonomic Unit ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Aplysina Aerophoba

ABSTRACT Marine sponges are a prolific source of novel enzymes with promising biotechnological potential. Especially halogenases, which are key enzymes in the biosynthesis of brominated and chlorinated secondary metabolites, possess interesting properties towards the production of pharmaceuticals that are often halogenated. In this study we used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based screening to simultaneously examine and compare the richness and diversity of putative tryptophan halogenase protein sequences and bacterial community structures of six Aplysina species from the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. At the phylum level, bacterial community composition was similar amongst all investigated species and predominated by Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Proteobacteria. We detected four phylogenetically diverse clades of putative tryptophan halogenase protein sequences, which were only distantly related to previously reported halogenases. The Mediterranean species Aplysina aerophoba harbored unique halogenase sequences, of which the most predominant was related to a sponge-associated Psychrobacter-derived sequence. In contrast, the Caribbean species shared numerous novel halogenase sequence variants and exhibited a highly similar bacterial community composition at the operational taxonomic unit (OTU) level. Correlations of relative abundances of halogenases with those of bacterial taxa suggest that prominent sponge symbiotic bacteria, including Chloroflexi and Actinobacteria, are putative producers of the detected enzymes and may thus contribute to the chemical defense of their host.

scholarly journals A Bayesian framework for identifying consistent patterns of microbial abundance between body sites

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Meier ◽  
Jeffrey A. Thompson ◽  
Mei Chung ◽  
Naisi Zhao ◽  
Karl T. Kelsey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Status ◽  
Operational Taxonomic Unit ◽  
Bayesian Framework ◽  
Bayesian Regression ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Simulation Studies ◽  
Disease Subtype ◽  
Strength Of Association ◽  
Formal Test ◽  
Correlation Statistic

Abstract Recent studies have found that the microbiome in both gut and mouth are associated with diseases of the gut, including cancer. If resident microbes could be found to exhibit consistent patterns between the mouth and gut, disease status could potentially be assessed non-invasively through profiling of oral samples. Currently, there exists no generally applicable method to test for such associations. Here we present a Bayesian framework to identify microbes that exhibit consistent patterns between body sites, with respect to a phenotypic variable. For a given operational taxonomic unit (OTU), a Bayesian regression model is used to obtain Markov-Chain Monte Carlo estimates of abundance among strata, calculate a correlation statistic, and conduct a formal test based on its posterior distribution. Extensive simulation studies demonstrate overall viability of the approach, and provide information on what factors affect its performance. Applying our method to a dataset containing oral and gut microbiome samples from 77 pancreatic cancer patients revealed several OTUs exhibiting consistent patterns between gut and mouth with respect to disease subtype. Our method is well powered for modest sample sizes and moderate strength of association and can be flexibly extended to other research settings using any currently established Bayesian analysis programs.

scholarly journals Presence of Bromotyrosine Alkaloids in Marine Sponges Is Independent of Metabolomic and Microbiome Architectures

mSystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ipsita Mohanty ◽  
Subhasish Tapadar ◽  
Samuel G. Moore ◽  
Jason S. Biggs ◽  
Christopher J. Freeman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Natural Product ◽  
Marine Sponge ◽  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Geographical Dispersion

ABSTRACT Marine sponge holobionts are prolific sources of natural products. One of the most geographically widespread classes of sponge-derived natural products is the bromotyrosine alkaloids. A distinguishing feature of bromotyrosine alkaloids is that they are present in phylogenetically disparate sponges. In this study, using sponge specimens collected from Guam, the Solomon Islands, the Florida Keys, and Puerto Rico, we queried whether the presence of bromotyrosine alkaloids potentiates metabolomic and microbiome conservation among geographically distant and phylogenetically different marine sponges. A multi-omic characterization of sponge holobionts revealed vastly different metabolomic and microbiome architectures among different bromotyrosine alkaloid-harboring sponges. However, we find statistically significant correlations between the microbiomes and metabolomes, signifying that the microbiome plays an important role in shaping the overall metabolome, even in low-microbial-abundance sponges. Molecules mined from the polar metabolomes of these sponges revealed conservation of biosynthetic logic between bromotyrosine alkaloids and brominated pyrrole-imidazole alkaloids, another class of marine sponge-derived natural products. In light of prior findings postulating the sponge host itself to be the biosynthetic source of bromotyrosine alkaloids, our data now set the stage for investigating the causal relationships that dictate the microbiome-metabolome interconnectedness for marine sponges in which the microbiome may not contribute to natural product biogenesis. IMPORTANCE Our work demonstrates that phylogenetically and geographically distant sponges with very different microbiomes can harbor natural product chemical classes that are united in their core chemical structures and biosynthetic logic. Furthermore, we show that independent of geographical dispersion, natural product chemistry, and microbial abundance, overall sponge metabolomes tightly correlate with their microbiomes.

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