Abstract

The bacterial community structures of two marine sponges, Cinachyrella sp. and Plakortis sp., collected from Chuuk in the South Pacific in February 2012 were analyzed by PCR-DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) fingerprinting. After isolation of the total genomic DNAs from the sponges, the V3 regions of the 16S rRNA genes were amplified and subjected to DGGE profiling. The two species of sponges displayed different DGGE band patterns. The sequences derived from the DGGE bands revealed 85-100% similarities to known bacterial species in the public database. The bacterial community of Cinachyrella sp. was composed of 6 classes: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Proteobacteria (Alpha-, Gamma-, Delta-). The bacterial community of Plakortis sp. included 7 classes: Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Spirochaetes, and Proteobacteria (Alpha-, Gamma-, Delta-). Though Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and Proteobacteria were commonly found in both sponges, the predominant bacterial communities differed between the two. Namely, the predominant bacterial groups in Cinachyrella sp. and Plakortis sp. were Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi, respectively. The sponge-associated bacteria are sponge host-specific, as each of the tested sponges from the same geographical location had different predominant bacterial diversity.

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