The molecular background of the aspartate aminotransferase polymorphism in Littorina snails maintained by strong selection on small spatial scales

Mittermayer, Felix; Helmerson, Cecilia; Duvetorp, Mårten; Johannesson, Kerstin; Panova, Marina

doi:10.1016/j.gene.2023.147517

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Marine intertidal mollusks from the genus Littorina are used as an informative model for studies on invertebrate evolutionary biology, ecology and adaptation [30][31][32]. Atlantic snails of the subgenus Littorina (Neritrema) have been comprehensively studied in the context of post hoc and ad hoc sympatric speciation events along environmental gradients [33]. While various trends accompanying divergence at the levels of whole genomes [34] and single genes [32] of the Littorina snails have been broadly investigated, their bacteriomes had been nearly ignored until recently.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut Bacteriomes and Ecological Niche Divergence: An Example of Two Cryptic Gastropod Species

Gafarova,

Kuracji,

Sogomonyan

et al. 2023

Biology

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Symbiotic microorganisms may provide their hosts with abilities critical to their occupation of microhabitats. Gut (intestinal) bacterial communities aid animals to digest substrates that are either innutritious or toxic, as well as support their development and physiology. The role of microbial communities associated with sibling species in the hosts’ adaptation remains largely unexplored. In this study, we examined the composition and plasticity of the bacteriomes in two sibling intertidal gastropod species, Littorina fabalis and L. obtusata, which are sympatric but differ in microhabitats. We applied 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding and shotgun sequencing to describe associated microbial communities and their spatial and temporal variation. A significant drop in the intestinal bacteriome diversity was revealed during the cold season, which may reflect temperature-related metabolic shifts and changes in snail behavior. Importantly, there were significant interspecies differences in the gut bacteriome composition in summer but not in autumn. The genera Vibrio, Aliivibrio, Moritella and Planktotalea were found to be predominantly associated with L. fabalis, while Granulosicoccus, Octadecabacter, Colwellia, Pseudomonas, Pseudoalteromonas and Maribacter were found to be mostly associated with L. obtusata. Based on these preferential associations, we analyzed the metabolic pathways’ enrichment. We hypothesized that the L. obtusata gut bacteriome contributes to decomposing algae and detoxifying polyphenols produced by fucoids. Thus, differences in the sets of associated bacteria may equip their closely phylogenetically related hosts with a unique ability to occupy specific micro-niches.

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