Keeping it in the family: coevolution of latrunculid sponges and their dominant bacterial symbionts
- Authors: Matcher, Gwynneth F , Waterworth, Samantha C , Walmsley, Tara A , Matsatsa, Tendayi , Parker-Nance, Shirley , Davies-Coleman, Michael T , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65603 , vital:28818 , https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.417
- Description: publisher version , The Latrunculiidae are a family of cold water sponges known for their production of bioactive pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids. Previously it was shown that the bacterial community associated with a Tsitsikamma sponge species comprises unusual bacterial taxa and is dominated by a novel Betaproteobacterium. Here, we have characterized the bacterial communities associated with six latrunculid species representing three genera (Tsitsikamma, Cyclacanthia, and Latrunculia) as well as a Mycale species, collected from Algoa Bay on the South African southeast coast. The bacterial communities of all seven sponge species were dominated by a single Betaproteobacterium operational taxonomic unit (OTU0.03), while a second OTU0.03 was dominant in the Mycale sp. The Betaproteobacteria OTUs from the different latrunculid sponges are closely related and their phylogenetic relationship follows that of their hosts. We propose that the latrunculid Betaproteobacteria OTUs are members of a specialized group of sponge symbionts that may have coevolved with their hosts. A single dominant Spirochaetae OTU0.03 was present in the Tsitsikamma and Cyclacanthia sponge species, but absent from the Latrunculia and Mycale sponges. This study sheds new light on the interactions between latrunculid sponges and their bacterial communities and may point to the potential involvement of dominant symbionts in the biosynthesis of the bioactive secondary metabolites. , This research was supported by a SARChI grant from the South African National Research Foundation (NRF, GUN: 87583) and the Rhodes University Sandisa Imbewu Programme. S. C. W. was supported by an NRF Innovation PhD Scholarship and a Rhodes University Henderson PhD Scholarship. T. A. W. was supported by PhD Fellowships from the NRF and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
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- Date Issued: 2016
Latrunculid sponges, their microbial communities and secondary metabolites: connecting conserved bacterial symbionts to pyrroloiminoquinone production
- Authors: Dorrington, Rosemary A , Hilliar, Storm Hannah , Kalinski, Jarmo-Charles J , Krause, Rui W M , McPhail, Kerry L , Parker-Nance, Shirley , Wlalmsley, Tara A , Waterworth, Samantha C
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65915 , vital:28858 , https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0036-1596655
- Description: publisher version , The Latrunculiidae are cold water sponges known for their production of bioactive pyrroloiminoquinone alkaloids (e.g. makaluvamines, discorhabdins and tsitsikammamines). Since pyrroloiminoquinones have also been isolated from sponges belonging to other families, ascidians and microorganisms, the biosynthetic origin of these alkaloids in latrunculid sponges is likely microbial. This study focuses on the secondary metabolites produced by closely-related Tsitsikamma species and Cyclacanthia bellae, all latrunculid sponges endemic to Algoa Bay on the South African southeast coast. The sponges produced suites of related pyrroloiminoquinones, including tsitsikammine A and B, and discohabdin C and V, the combination and relative abundance of which is species-specific. Characterisation of the diversity of sponge-associated bacterial communities revealed the unprecedented conservation of two dominant bacterial species. The first, a Betaproteobacterium, is also found in other latrunculids and related sponge families, representing a novel clade of sponge endosymbionts that have co-evolved with their hosts. The second conserved bacterial symbiont is a spirochaete found only in Cyclacanthia and Tsitsikamma species that is likely to have been recruited from free-living spirochaetes in the environment. This study sheds new light on the interactions between latrunculid sponges, their dominant bacterial symbionts, and the potential involvement of these bacteria in pyrroloiminoquinone biosynthesis.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2016