Sponge Microbiome
Sponges, the oldest extant multicellular animals (i.e. more than 600 million years old), are holobionts comprised of the host and its symbiotic microbes. Marine sponges are ecologically important components of coral reef ecosystems where they provide habitat for a wide range of species and couple the benthic and pelagic zones through their high seawater filtration capability.
The Thematic Issue on the Sponge Microbiome was compiled in connection with the 3rd ISSM, including one mini-review as well as 12 original research articles contributed by scientists world-wide. These contributions cover how sponge-associated microbial diversity varies with geography and host phylogeny as well as the contributions of sponge symbionts to nutrient cycling, chemical defense and environment acclimatization.
The Virtual Issue is a collection of previously published articles on the topic of the sponge microbiome, included as additional recommended reading.
Readers may also want to watch the FEMS Microbiology Ecology Webinar featuring authors from the thematic issue.
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Sponge Microbiome Thematic Issue
This Thematic Issue on the Sponge Microbiome was compiled in connection with the 3rd ISSM, including one mini-review as well as 12 original research articles contributed by scientists world-wide.
Microbial symbionts associated with marine sponges are important mediators of nutrient cycles in benthic coral reef ecosystems.
The breadcrumb sponge (Halichondria panicea) from Icelandic waters hosts a dominant bacterial symbiont.
Microbiomes from seven life stages of the sponge Tedania sp. exhibited distinct differences.
The prokaryotic communities of multiple giant barrel sponge species in the Indo-Pacific are more strongly influenced by geography than host phylogeny.
High and low microbial abundance sponges from Zanzibar host unique prokaryotic communities that play an important role in natural product synthesis.
Microbiomes of two sponge species remain stable under conditions of ocean acidification.
A total of 363 bacterial isolates, including 123 actinobacterial strains, were isolated from 49 marine sponges from Beibu Gulf, South China Sea, and their antimicrobial potential and functional gene resources were analyzed.
Functional transcripts indicate autotrophic CO2 assimilation through the reductive pentose phosphate cycle, heterotrophic anaplerotic CO2 assimilation, and aerobic CO oxidation by phylogenetically diverse bacteria in three sympatric sponges T. swinhoei, P. simplex and Ph. fusca.
A multi-primer based amplicon sequencing approach allowed for a more comprehensive profile of sponge microbial community and demonstrated the host-specificity of microbiomes at the taxonomic ranks of sponge orders and families.
A diverse range of novel halogenase genes was detected in six sponge species, indicating that microorganisms play a fundamental role in the production of sponge-derived bioactive compounds.
Prokaryote communities were sampled from 17 sponge species, bacterial mats, sediment and seawater in Southeast Asian coral reef habitats in order to assign HMA or LMA status and compare compositional variation among species.
Rhodospirillaceae symbionts of marine sponges are widespread and metabolically versatile, displaying enrichment in organic sulfur utilization genes and loss of motility and chemotaxis genes as adaptive features of a symbiotic existence within sponges.
Original sponge microbiome that can explain their ecological success in submarine caves.
Sponge Microbiome Virtual Issue
Rhodospirillaceae symbionts of marine sponges are widespread and metabolically versatile, displaying enrichment in organic sulfur utilization genes and loss of motility and chemotaxis genes as adaptive features of a symbiotic existence within sponges.
Microbiomes from seven life stages of the sponge Tedania sp. exhibited distinct differences.
Bacterial signal molecules (AHLs) are common in sponges, yet do not relate to abundance of microbial symbionts. A single sponge can harbor >10 different AHLs.
Distinct Cinachyrella morphospecies inhabiting two marine lakes with differing degrees of connection to the surrounding sea hosted distinct prokaryote communities which clustered according to morphospecies as opposed to marine lake.
A disease currently affecting Geodia barretti populations in the Norwegian fjords causes a distinct shift in the microbiome of affected sponges.
A subpopulation of sponge-associated Pseudovibrio spp. specifically inhibits potentially pathogenic Bacillus spp. and likely influence the composition of the sponge microbiome.
The bacterial community of the carnivorous sponge Chondrocladia grandis was investigated, revealing divergent communities in different anatomical regions.
Linking sponge phylogeny to associated bacteria.
These findings show clear distinctions in symbiont structure between HMA and LMA sponges while resolving notable similarities in their stability over seasonal and inter-annual scales.
Sponges are one of the most complex symbiotic communities and while the taxonomic composition of associated microbes has been determined, the biggest challenge now is to uncover their functional role in symbiosis.
This review covers recent findings regarding diversity, biogeography and population dynamics of sponge-associated microbiota, and the data are discussed within the larger context of the microbiology of the ocean.
