Open AccessCharacterizing the bacterial associates of three Caribbean sponges along a gradient from shallow to mesophotic depths
Author(s) -
Olson Julie B.,
Gao Xumin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12099
Subject(s) - biology , terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism , sponge , abiotic component , microbial population biology , library , ecology , chloroflexi (class) , community structure , 16s ribosomal rna , range (aeronautics) , host (biology) , zoology , restriction fragment length polymorphism , proteobacteria , bacteria , botany , genetics , gene , polymerase chain reaction , materials science , composite material
Bacteriosponges have been shown to support relatively stable microbial communities across both distance and time, but little is known about the effect of depth on the composition of the associated community. To address this question, we examined the bacterial communities associated with three common Caribbean bacteriosponges collected at the same location over a depth gradient from approximately 10–100 m. The 16S rRNA genes of the associated communities were assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and clone library analyses. Our results indicated that the stability and specificity of the associated bacterial communities varied with the host sponge but that each sponge supported a distinct community. Analyses of similarity suggested differences in community composition with depth, but examination of in silico predicted terminal restriction fragments failed to identify bacteria that occurred specifically at particular depths. P lakortis angulospiculatus , A gelas conifera , and X estospongia muta supported diverse C hloroflexi species, while X . muta appeared to be the only sponge that hosted a cyanobacterial community. Regardless of host sponge, each species maintained a ‘core’ group of bacterial associates across a depth range with the composition of the remaining community presumably influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors.