Abstract
Complex cell-to-cell interactions (including the production of antibiotics and the quorum sensing phenomenon) occur between benthic marine organisms and bacteria, leading to the establishment of synergistic interactions, especially in extreme and harsh environments, such as Antarctica. Despite this, current data concerning the composition, host- and site-relatedness, and biotechnological values of the bacterial community associated with Antarctic sponges are limited to few works, resulting in a still fragmented and incomplete knowledge. In this context, a total of 11 sponge species (belonging to Demospongiae and Hexactinellida) from the Terra Nova Bay area (Ross Sea) were explored for the associated bacterial diversity by the ION Torrent sequencing. An additional predictive functional analysis on 16S rRNA gene data was performed to unravel metabolic and biotechnological potentials of the associated bacterial communities. Data obtained highlighted the predominance of Proteobacteria, mainly affiliated to Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. Retrieved phyla were similarly distributed across samples, with dissimilarities encountered for the sponge Haliclona (Rhizoniera) dancoi (Topsent, 1901). Functional prediction results suggested that the associated bacterial community may be involved in the biosynthesis of antibiotics, quorum sensing and degradation of aromatic compounds.
Highlights
Symbiosis is one of the most fascinating phenomena occurring in nature, bringing relevant implications from ecological, evolutionistic, and bioprospecting perspectives (Li et al, 2014)
Demospongiae were represented by three orders: Haplosclerida [i.e., Hemigellius pilosus (Kirkpatrick, 1907), Microxina sarai Calcinai & Pansini, 2000, and Haliclona (Rhizoniera) dancoi (Topsent, 1901)], Poecilosclerida (i.e., Isodictya erinacea (Topsent, 1916), Lissodendoryx (Ectyodoryx) ramilobosa (Topsent, 1916), Mycale spp., Myxodoryx hanitschi (Kirkpatrick, 1907), and Tedania (Tedaniopsis) oxeata Topsent, 1916), and Tetractinellida [i.e., Cinachyra antarctica (Carter, 1872)]; instead, the class Hexactinellida was represented by the sole Lyssacinosida order (i.e., Rossella villosa Burton, 1929) (Table 1)
The application of a combined approach, which included the analysis of both diversity and predictive functional metabolic profile of Antarctic sponge-associated bacterial communities, furnished novel and interesting insights on the symbiotic communities hosted by benthic filter-feeding invertebrates living in polar areas, and allowed individuating a number of their putative ecological roles and biotechnological potentialities
Summary
Symbiosis is one of the most fascinating phenomena occurring in nature, bringing relevant implications from ecological, evolutionistic, and bioprospecting perspectives (Li et al, 2014). Antarctic Sponge-Associated Bacterial Communities relationships involving marine sponges possess a great evolutionary and ecological significance These peculiar interactions are affected by a diverse set of environmental parameters and require the establishment of complex signal communication systems and fine regulating processes between the host and its symbionts, as well as within the symbiotic community itself (Mohamed et al, 2008; Mangano et al, 2009, 2018). Several studies have contributed to the prokaryotic diversity characterization of sponge-associated assemblages They have been mainly aimed at establishing the taxonomical specificity of sponge core microbiome and/or the possible vertical or horizontal transmission processes involved in the acquisition and maintenance of ancient symbionts (Taylor et al, 2007; Webster et al, 2010). Greater efforts are available for the exploration of sponges inhabiting more accessible study areas, mainly tropical and temperate habitats, while studies performed in polar regions remain very scant (Cárdenas et al, 2014; Lo Giudice and Rizzo, 2018; Lo Giudice et al, 2019a)
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