Identfication of Microbial Symbionts Harbored by the Chesapeake Bay Sponge, Clathria prolifera

Marine sponges are a rich source of pharmaceutically‐interesting compounds. Many of these chemicals are produced by bacterial symbionts that live in tight association with the host sponge. Given the potential therapeutic importance of some of these compounds, there is interest in assessing factors that contribute to our ability to cultivate these bacteria so that compounds may be mass‐produced. We explored carotenoid production in marine sponges because bacterial symbionts likely produce these compounds given that animals are incapable of synthesizing the pigment. Thus, exploring the manner of pigment production in the sponge may shed light on metabolic and biochemical integration between the symbiont and host. We isolated more than unique 50 pigmented colonies cultured from the progeny of the Chesapeake Bay sponge, Clathria prolifera . Pigmented colonies were specifically selected to begin to answer questions about the incorporation of potential antioxidants into the sponge. Freezer stocks were prepared from single colonies and were then grown in marine broth overnight at room temperature. Genomic DNA was isolated from these colonies and nested PCR of the DNA was performed to amplify the 16S rDNA. Bands were cut out from these PCR samples, gel extracted, and sequenced. We created phylogenetic trees to look for relatedness among the microbial species identified. We believe that our study may begin to identify and answer questions about the symbiotic structure harbored by C. prolifera.