Abstract
BackgroundPrior research on the microorganisms associated with the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, has mainly been limited to culture-based identification techniques or feeding studies for aquaculture. Our objective was to identify bacteria and archaea associated with Artemia adults and encysted embryos to understand the role of microbes in the Artemia life cycle and, therefore, their importance in a hypersaline food chain.ResultsWe used small subunit (SSU) 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing to identify bacteria and archaea associated with adults and encysted Artemia embryos from one of their natural environments – Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, USA. We found that bacterial sequences most closely related to the genera Halomonas and Vibrio were commonly extracted from GSL adult Artemia, while bacterial sequences most similar to the genera Halomonas, Psychroflexus and Alkalilimnicola dominate in GSL water. Encysted embryos (cysts) yielded bacterial sequences from the genera Idiomarina and Salinivibrio, which were absent from adults and water. Common archaeal sequences in adults were most closely related to the genera Haloterrigena and Haloarcula, while all of the archaeal sequences from GSL water were most similar to the genus Halogeometricum. Cyst derived archaeal sequences were most closely related to the genera Halorubrum and Haloarcula.ConclusionsIn addition to identifying microbial rRNA sequences that are specific to different stages of the Artemia life cycle, we observed striking differences in the sequences associated with the adult Artemia population in samples collected from GSL at different times and locations. While our study was limited in scope and the sample was small, our findings provide a foundation for future research into how the bacteria and archaea associated with Artemia influence the Artemia life cycle, and GSL food web.
Highlights
Prior research on the microorganisms associated with the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, has mainly been limited to culture-based identification techniques or feeding studies for aquaculture
Great Salt Lake (GSL) Artemia are thought to be supported by a rich phytoplankton community dominated by the species Dunaliella viridis [8] yet little is known regarding the bacteria and archaea that live in association with GSL Artemia or how these microbes contribute to the GSL food web
Previous studies that have identified microorganisms from adult brine shrimp in natural environments or from commercially harvested cysts have used culture techniques to identify a range of gram negative and gram positive bacterial species [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16], with one exception that examined bacterial Ribosomal RNA gene sequences associated with Artemia from salterns in Isreal [17]
Summary
Prior research on the microorganisms associated with the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, has mainly been limited to culture-based identification techniques or feeding studies for aquaculture. The brine shrimp that inhabits many hypersaline environments including Great Salt Lake (GSL) in Utah, is an important food source for migrating birds and is used as fish food in aquaculture [1,2]. Previous studies that have identified microorganisms from adult brine shrimp in natural environments or from commercially harvested cysts have used culture techniques to identify a range of gram negative and gram positive bacterial species [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16], with one exception that examined bacterial Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences associated with Artemia from salterns in Isreal [17]. Since microbes from aquatic environments are often difficult to culture or are unculturable in a laboratory setting [18,19], the results of these previous cultured-based studies may be dominated by microbes that grew more successfully in culture rather than represent a sample of the natural populations [20,21]
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