Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Zoology (Jena). 2023 Jun;158:126091. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2023.126091. Epub 2023 Mar 22.
Microbial communities inhabiting sponges are known to take part in many metabolic pathways, including nutrient cycles, and possibly also in the bioaccumulation of trace elements (TEs). Here, we used high-throughput, Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to characterize the prokaryotic communities present in the cortex and choanosome, respectively the external and internal body region of Chondrosia reniformis, and in the surrounding seawater. Furthermore, we estimated the total mercury content (THg) in these body regions of the sponge and in the corresponding microbial cell pellets. Fifteen prokaryotic phyla were detected in association with C. reniformis, 13 belonging to the domain Bacteria and two to the Archaea. No significant differences between the prokaryotic community composition of the two regions were found. Three lineages of ammonium-oxidizing organisms (Cenarchaeum symbiosum, Nitrosopumilus maritimus, and Nitrosococcus sp.) co-dominated the prokaryotic community, suggesting ammonium oxidation/nitrification as a key metabolic pathway within the microbiome of C. reniformis. In the sponge fractions, higher THg levels were found in the choanosome compared to the cortex. In contrast, comparable THg levels found in the microbial pellets obtained from both regions were significantly lower than those observed in the corresponding sponge fractions. Our work provides new insights into the prokaryotic communities and TEs distribution in different body parts of a model organism relevant for marine conservation and biotechnology. In this sense, this study paves the way for scientists to deepen the possible application of sponges not only as bioindicators, but also as bioremediation tools of metal polluted environments.
栖息在海绵体中的微生物群落已知参与许多代谢途径，包括营养循环，并且可能还参与微量元素 (TEs) 的生物积累。在这里，我们使用高通量、Illumina 16S rRNA 基因测序来分别描述体表皮层和内部体腔（即 Chondrosia reniformis 的外部和内部身体区域）以及周围海水中的原核生物群落。此外，我们还估计了海绵体这些身体区域以及相应微生物细胞团块中的总汞含量 (THg)。在与 C. reniformis 相关的 15 个原核生物门中，有 13 个属于细菌域，2 个属于古菌域。在两个区域的原核生物群落组成之间没有发现显著差异。三种氨氧化生物（Cenarchaeum symbiosum、Nitrosopumilus maritimus 和 Nitrosococcus sp.）共同主导着原核生物群落，这表明氨氧化/硝化作用是 C. reniformis 微生物组中的关键代谢途径。在海绵体部分，与皮层相比，体腔中的 THg 水平更高。相比之下，从两个区域获得的微生物团块中的可比 THg 水平明显低于相应的海绵体部分。我们的工作为不同身体部位的模型生物的原核生物群落和 TEs 分布提供了新的见解，这对于海洋保护和生物技术具有重要意义。从这个意义上说，这项研究为科学家们提供了进一步应用海绵体的可能性铺平了道路，不仅可以作为生物指标，还可以作为金属污染环境的生物修复工具。
