Abstract
Cnidarians have large surface areas available for colonization by microbial organisms, which serve a multitude of functions in the environment. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on scyphozoan-associated microbial communities. Blooms of scyphozoan species are common worldwide and can have numerous deleterious consequences on the marine ecosystem. Four scyphozoan species, Aurelia coerulea, Cyanea nozakii, Nemopilema nomurai, and Rhopilema esculentum, form large blooms in Chinese seas. In this study, we analyzed the bacterial communities associated with these four jellyfish based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We found that the bacterial communities associated with each scyphozoan species were significantly different from each other and from those of the surrounding seawater. There were no significant differences between the bacterial communities associated with different body parts of the four scyphozoan jellyfish. Core bacteria in various compartments of the four scyphozoan taxa comprised 57 OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units), dominated by genera Mycoplasma, Vibrio, Ralstonia, Tenacibaculum, Shingomonas and Phyllobacterium. FAPROTAX function prediction revealed that jellyfish could influence microbially mediated biogeochemical cycles, compound degradation and transmit pathogens in regions where they proliferate. Finally, Six genera of potentially pathogenic bacteria associated with the scyphozoans were detected: Vibrio, Mycoplasma, Ralstonia, Tenacibaculum, Nautella, and Acinetobacter. Our study suggests that blooms of these four common scyphozoans may cause jellyfish species-specific impacts on element cycling in marine ecosystems, and serve as vectors of pathogenic bacteria to threaten other marine organisms and human health.
Highlights
The external and internal surfaces of marine animals are considered to be ubiquitously colonized by microorganisms (Grossart and Tang, 2010)
The present study focuses on the bacterial communities associated with Aurelia coerulea, Cyanea nozakii and Nemopilema nomurai, as the scyphozoans with the highest frequencies of outbreaks in Chinese seas (Dong et al, 2010; Wang P.P. et al, 2020), as well as Rhopilema esculentum, which is an economically valuable edible jellyfish and is artificially proliferated and released to increase its population
The bacterial communities associated with four scyphomedusae and surrounding seawater were analyzed by Ion S5TM XL sequencing which generated 4,351,887 filtered high-quality sequences with an average of 69,078 sequences for each sample
Summary
The external and internal surfaces of marine animals are considered to be ubiquitously colonized by microorganisms (Grossart and Tang, 2010). Microbial colonization of a certain surface is determined by the availability of nutrients, host immune responses, and competition between microbes from the surrounding environment for attachment space (Wilson et al, 2011). Microbial communities have developed special mechanisms to interfere with the ability of adverse bacteria to colonize surfaces and acquire nutrients (Vezzulli et al, 2012). Microbes may influence developmental programs of hosts with complex life history strategies, such as inducing normal developmental changes in morphology and maturation of the immune system (Schuh et al, 2020). Development of multicellularity in eukaryotes may never have been autonomous, rather requiring transient or persistent interactions with the microbial world (Bosch and McFall-Ngai, 2021)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
