Abstract
Exaiptasia is a laboratory sea anemone model system for stony corals. Two clonal strains are commonly used, referred to as H2 and CC7, that originate from two genetically distinct lineages and that differ in their Symbiodinium specificity. However, little is known about their other microbial associations. Here, we examined and compared the taxonomic composition of the bacterial assemblages of these two symbiotic Exaiptasia strains, both of which have been cultured in the laboratory long-term under identical conditions. We found distinct bacterial microbiota for each strain, indicating the presence of host-specific microbial consortia. Putative differences in the bacterial functional profiles (i.e. enrichment and depletion of various metabolic processes) based on taxonomic inference were also detected, further suggesting functional differences of the microbiomes associated with these lineages. Our study contributes to the current knowledge of the Exaiptasia holobiont by comparing the bacterial diversity of two commonly used strains as models for coral research.
Highlights
Microbes are an essential part of life; they interact with their hosts in such a way that it affects their fitness and survival and defines them as a unique biological entity (McFallNgai et al, 2013)
Rarefaction analysis showed that a subsample of 20,816 sequences from each sample was sufficient to account for the majority of bacterial diversity (Figure S1)
Exaiptasia is a cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis model system on the rise, yet until recently, little was known about its bacterial associations
Summary
Microbes are an essential part of life; they interact with their hosts in such a way that it affects their fitness and survival and defines them as a unique biological entity (McFallNgai et al, 2013). Contribution of the microbiota to the evolution, development, and molecular and physiological functioning of animals has been studied for different groups (McFall-Ngai et al, 2013; Rosenberg and Zilber-Rosenberg, 2013); but for corals (Thompson et al, 2015; Bourne et al, 2016), as they form the basis of one of the most productive and diverse ecosystems on earth. Much work has been done on identifying coral-associated bacteria that can cause or prevent bleaching (Rosenberg et al, 2009) and diseases (Rosenberg et al, 2007; Bourne et al, 2009), highlighting how the coral microbiome can disrupt the holobiont equilibrium. A more comprehensive approach that takes into account the whole coral holobiont is critical to understand the adaptation and resilience of these organisms (Voolstra et al, 2015). Working with corals is challenging; they are difficult to culture in aquariums and in situ studies are not always feasible (Voolstra, 2013)
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