Bacterial Diversity Associated with Cinachyra cavernosa and Haliclona pigmentifera, Cohabiting Sponges in the Coral Reef Ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar, Southeast Coast of India

Abstract

Sponges are abundant, diverse and functionally important organisms of coral reef ecosystems. Sponge-associated microorganisms have been receiving greater attention because of their significant contribution to sponge biomass, biogeochemical cycles and biotechnological potentials. However, our understanding of the sponge microbiome is limited to a few species of sponges from restricted geographical locations. Here, we report for the first time the bacterial diversity of two cohabiting sponges, viz. Cinachyra cavernosa and Haliclona pigmentifera, as well as that in the ambient water from the coral reef ecosystems of the Gulf of Mannar, located along the southeast coast of India. Two hundred and fifty two clones in the 16S rRNA gene library of these sponges were grouped into eight distinct phyla, of which four belonged to the core group that are associated only with sponges. Phylogenetic analysis of the core bacteria showed close affinity to other sponge-associated bacteria from different geographical locations. γ-Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Planctomycetes and Deferribacter were the core groups in C. cavernosa while β and δ-Proteobacteria performed this role in H. pigmentifera. We observed greater OTU diversity for C. cavernosa (Hǀ 2.07) compared to H. pigmentifera (Hǀ 1.97). UniFrac analysis confirmed the difference in bacterial diversity of the two sponge species and also between the sponges and the reef water (p<0.001). The results of our study restate the existence of a host driven force in shaping the sponge microbiome.

BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT OF MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH TWO MARINE SPONGES (Haliclona oculata AND Amphius huxleyi) COLLECTED AT THE LANG CO BAY OF VIETNAM

“…Among 12 phyla found in Amphius huxley, the phylum Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum (29.4% reads). Most main bacterial phyla found in A. huxleyi were also reported in other marine sponges [20][21][22].…”

“…To date, the microbial communities associated with genus Haliclona have been well reported. For example, Jasmin et al, (2015) [21] documented the bacterial diversity associated with the species Haliclona pigmentifera cohabiting in coral reef of the Gulf of Mannar by analysis of 16S rRNA gene library and showed that the dominant bacterial phylum in H. pigmentifera was β-Proteobacteria (33.3%) followed by Cyanobacteria (21.5%) [21]. Similarly, Sipkema et al, (2009) [22] after analyzing the 16S rRNA library detected representatives of most bacterial phyla associated with sponge Haliclona (?gellius) sp.…”

Archaeal and bacterial diversity and community composition from 18 phylogenetically divergent sponge species in Vietnam

“…The prokaryotic taxa with a high relative abundance in the present study (e.g., Nitrospinaceae, PAUC34f, Caldilineaceae , Nitrosomonadales , Rhodobacteraceae , Endozoicomonas , Rhodospirillaceae ) are also abundant in other marine sponges, which can be found in vastly different marine regions ( Rodríguez-Marconi et al, 2015 ; Steinert et al, 2016 ; Thomas et al, 2016 ). Regarding the six newly studied sponges, in four of them (i.e., C. reinwardti, H. amboinensis, H. fascigera, C. schulzei ) all prokaryotic phyla were also found in other sponge species belonging to the same sponge genera ( Alex & Antunes, 2015 ; Cleary et al, 2013 ; Erwin, Olson & Thacker, 2011 ; Jasmin, Anas & Nair, 2015 ; Khan et al, 2013 ; Naim et al, 2014 ; Sipkema et al, 2009 ; Thomas et al, 2016 ). In contrast, three additional bacterial phyla (i.e., Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes ) have not been found to be associated with the genus Terpios in a previous study ( Tang et al, 2011 ).…”

Does the Chemical Diversity of the Order Haplosclerida (Phylum Porifera: Class Demospongia) Fit with Current Taxonomic Classification?

“…An additional concern could be the varying influence of microbes residing in sponge tissue, which may be responsible for some of the compounds isolated. A diversity of microbial sequences has been reported from some Haliclona species and Xestospongia, amongst others [177][178][179][180], even though these studies do not show the presence of microbes in the sponge tissue nor do they confirm the source of compounds of interest as being from sponge or microbial cells. Sponges filter feed and concentrate microbes and microbial constituents from their environment, and these elements will be present in approaches that only isolate DNA sequences from sponge cells (even though they may only represent food for the sponge).…”