The Persian Gulf is a special habitat of marine sponges whose bacterial communities are under-investigated. Recently, next-generation sequencing technology has comprehensively improved the knowledge of marine sponge-associated bacteria. For the first time, this study aimed to evaluate the diversity of the Persian Gulf sponge-associated bacteria using tag pyrosequencing in Iran. In this study, 10 sponge samples from 6 different taxonomic orders were collected from the Persian Gulf using SCUBA diving. The diversity of the bacteria associated with the marine sponges was investigated using the 16S rRNA gene PCR-tagged pyrosequencing method. A total of 68,628 high-quality sequences were obtained and clustered at a 97% similarity into 724 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs), representing 17 bacterial phyla. Cyanobacteria was the most abundant phylum in the sponges, followed by Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Other phyla were detected as minor groups of bacteria. Bacterial community richness, Shannon, and Simpson indices revealed the highest diversity in sponge S11 (Dictyoceratida sp.) compared to other sponges. This study showed a diverse structure of bacterial communities associated with the Persian Gulf sponges. The dominance of Cyanobacteria may suggest an ecological importance of this phylum in the Persian Gulf sponges.

Background: The order zoantharia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) which is one of the most unexplored orders are present in the Persian Gulf. This group of cnidarians commonly found in tropical waters at various places in the world and morphological identification to the species level is extremely complicated. In the present study, molecular diversity of shallow water zoanthids from the Bushehr coasts in the Persian Gulf was investigated for the first time. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four colonies of zoanthids with variety of shape and colors have been collected from different locations. After DNA extraction using CTAB-Phenol-Chloroform method, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA (mt 16S rDNA) and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA (ITS-rDNA) were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Results: Based on the obtained sequences, the presence of four species-level clades: Zoanthus sansibaricus, Zoanthus pulchellus, Zoanthus sociatus and Palythoa aff. mutuki. Palythoa aff confirmed. mutuki species observed in this study had identical sequences with previously reported Palythoa aff. mutuki in the Persian Gulf. Nevertheless, in the present study two new undescribed species from genus Zoanthus (Z.sociatus and Z.pulchellus) were identifed. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate the efficiency of molecular markers application in comparison with morphological characteristics to identify zoaentaria, especially at the species level. Undoubtedly, more studies on zoanthids distribution patterns will increase our knowledge about the biodiversity of the Persian Gulf.

Background: TP53 tumor suppressor gene participates in several pathways involving in carcinogenesis such as cell cycle control, DNA repair, and apoptosis. A common TP53 SNP (guanine/cytosine nucleotide substitution at codon 72), rs1042522, affects the function of p53 protein and may influence tumor behavior in response to environmental carcinogens. Objectives: This study investigates the association between TP53 codon 72 polymorphisms, tobacco smoking, and breast cancer risk in southern Iranian women from Bushehr. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 144 cases with histologically confirmed invasive breast carcinoma and 162 randomly selected healthy controls with no previous cancer history in their family. TP53 codon 72 genotype was determined by using restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) technique. Results: Analysis revealed that smoking frequency was significantly higher in cases compared to controls (OR = 2.31, 95%CI = 1.33-3.99, P = 0.003) and the association between smoking and breast cancer was only significant for individuals with Arg/Pro genotype (OR = 3.23, 95% CI = 1.47 -7.06, P = 0.003). On the other hand, there was no statistically considerable difference in the allele and genotype distribution between cases and controls. Conclusions: These results should be confirmed in larger studies, but suggest that TP53 Arg/Pro genotype modifies the risk of breast cancer in tobacco smokers and causes significantly more susceptibility to breast cancer due to smoking.

Background:Marine sponges are associated with numerically vast and phylogenetically diverse microbial communities at different geographical locations. However, little is known about the archaeal diversity of sponges in the Persian Gulf. The present study was aimed to identify the symbiotic archaea with a sponge species gathered from the Persian Gulf, Iran.Methods:Sponge sample was collected from a depth of 3 m offshore Bushehr, Persian Gulf, Iran. Metagenomic DNA was extracted using a hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) method. The COI mtDNA marker was used for molecular taxonomy identification of sponge sample. Also, symbiotic archaea were identified using the culture-independent analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and PCR- cloning.Results:In this study, analysis of multilocus DNA marker and morphological characteristics revealed that the sponge species belonged to Chondrilla australiensis isolate PG_BU4. PCR cloning and sequencing showed that all of the sequences of archaeal 16S rRNA gene libraries clustered into the uncultured archaeal group.Conclusion:The present study is the first report of the presence of the genus of Chondrilla in the Persian Gulf. Traditional taxonomy methods, when used along with molecular techniques, could play a significant role in the accurate taxonomy of sponges. Also, the uncultured archaea may promise a potential source for bioactive compounds. Further functional studies are needed to explore the role of the sponge-associated uncultured archaea as a part of the marine symbiosis.

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