Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA.
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL 33149, USA.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2021 Feb 12;368(3). doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnab002.
Sampling of different body regions can reveal highly specialized bacterial associations within the holobiont and facilitate identification of core microbial symbionts that would otherwise be overlooked by bulk sampling methods. Here, we characterized compartment-specific associations present within the model cnidarian Nematostella vectensis by dividing its morphology into three distinct microhabitats. This sampling design allowed us to uncover a capitulum-specific dominance of spirochetes within N. vectensis. Bacteria from the family Spirochaetaceae made up 66% of the community in the capitulum, while only representing 1.2% and 0.1% of the communities in the mesenteries and physa, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis of the predominant spirochete sequence recovered from N. vectensis showed a close relation to spirochetes previously recovered from wild N. vectensis. These sequences clustered closer to the recently described genus Oceanispirochaeta, rather than Spirochaeta perfilievii, supporting them as members of this clade. This suggests a prevalent and yet uncharacterized association between N. vectensis and spirochetes from the order Spirochaetales.
对不同身体部位进行采样可以揭示整个共生体中高度专业化的细菌关联，并有助于识别核心微生物共生体，否则这些共生体可能会被批量采样方法所忽略。在这里，我们通过将模型刺胞动物 Nematostella vectensis 的形态分为三个不同的小生境来描述特定部位的关联。这种采样设计使我们能够揭示 N. vectensis 中旋毛虫的特定头状结构优势。螺旋体科的细菌在头状结构中占群落的 66%，而在肠系膜和体腔中仅分别占群落的 1.2%和 0.1%。从 N. vectensis 中回收的主要旋毛虫序列的系统发育分析表明，它们与从野生 N. vectensis 中回收的旋毛虫密切相关。这些序列与最近描述的海洋螺旋体属聚类更近，而不是与 Profilieria 属聚类更近，支持它们属于这个分支。这表明 N. vectensis 与螺旋体目螺旋体属之间存在普遍但尚未表征的关联。
