DOCSLIB.ORG

An Insight Into the Aliivibrio Genus a Comparative Study on Relationships and Traits of Species Within the Genus Aliivibrio

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Insight Into the Aliivibrio Genus a Comparative Study on Relationships and Traits of Species Within the Genus Aliivibrio FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS RESEARCH GROUP An Insight into the Aliivibrio genus A comparative study on relationships and traits of species within the genus Aliivibrio Terje Klemetsen KJE-3900 Master's Thesis in Chemistry May 2016 Acknowledgements I am grateful for the time I have been granted to work with bioinformatics. I would especially thank my supervisor Nils Peder Willassen for making this masters degree possible, and for all the talks and good suggestions. My work has been both challenging and highly rewarding. Experience on the field has grown in these passing years, and so too, the interest and desire for more knowledge. I also thank my very inspiring office mates Cecilie Bækkedal and Espen Åberg who as well contribute to the field of bioinformatics. Moreover, my family has supported me all the way since I started as a student seven years ago and I am very grateful for all they have done. Terje Klemetsen Tromsø, May 2016 3 4 Abstract Background Few studies have emphasized on the genus Aliivibrio as a whole and lags behind the better known Vibrio. Nevertheless, the Aliivibrio has for several decades been associated with species expressing bioluminescence like the Aliivibrio fischeri, but has also been linked to costly diseases in the fish farming industry such as Aliivibrio salmonicida. In an attempt to gain insight in the genus on a broad level, Aliivibrio genomes were sequenced, assembled and annotated prior to phylogenetic and pan-genome analysis. Additionally, mapping of genes related to quorum sensing and the CRISPR defense system was performed in a comparative manner. Works like this have never been carried out before on this scale for the Aliivibrio and is needed to better understand the complexity of this genus. Results This project found the Aliivibrio to be distinct in the Vibrionaceae family and harbors a diverse range of species with a relatively large set of dispensable genes. Among these appeared five new proposed species, and comparison showed deviations in quorum sensing genes with novel additions to previously described systems. This comes as well as proving the presence of Type I-F CRISPR system in most strains of A. wodanis. Conclusion Aliivibrio was discovered to be a distinct and diverse genus on more than one level, and is likely to harbor additional species and traits that still remain to discover. 5 6 Abbreviations AAI - Average Amino acid Identity AHL - Acyl Homoserine Lactone ANI - Average Nucleotide Identity BIC - Bayesian Information Criterion BLAST - Basic Local Alignment Search cas genes - CRISPR Associated genes CDS - Coding DNA Sequences CLC - CLC genomic workbench COG - Clusters of Orthologous Groups CPU - Central Processing Unit CRISPR - Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat crRNA - CRISPR RNAs, spacer and repeat products DDBJ - DNA Data Bank of Japan DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid ENA - European Nucleotide Archive GC - Guanine-Cytosine content GTR - General Time Reversible model G - Gamma distributed I - Invariant positions HGT - Horizontal Gene Transfer IUPAC - International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry KEGG - Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes MLSA - MultiLocus Sequence Analysis NCBI - National Center for Biotechnology Information NGS - Next Genetation Sequencing PAM - Protospacer Adjacent Motif PCR - Polymerase Chain Reaction QS - Quorum Sensing RNA - Ribonucleic Acid ML - Maximum likelihood 7 8 Table of contents Background .......................................................................................................................................................... 11 The Vibrionaceae and Aliivibrio ........................................................................................................................ 11 Sequencing technology and post processing ...................................................................................................... 12 The Pan-genome era .......................................................................................................................................... 15 Quorum sensing in bacteria ............................................................................................................................... 16 CRISPR – the antiviral defense system in bacteria ............................................................................................ 18 Aims of this project .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Material ................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Genomes and house-keeping genes ................................................................................................................... 23 Software ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 Web-services and databases .......................................................................................................................... 27 Equipment and hardware ............................................................................................................................... 29 Method ................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Assembly and Genome Annotation ................................................................................................................... 31 Inferring the Phylogenetic relationship of Aliivibrio, Vibrio and Photobacteria ............................................... 32 Pan-genome analysis of the genus Aliivibrio ..................................................................................................... 34 Mapping of Quorum Sensing Genes .................................................................................................................. 35 Identification of CRISPR repeats and cas genes ................................................................................................ 36 Results ................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Assembly and annotation overview ................................................................................................................... 37 Phylogenetic relationships based on MLSA ...................................................................................................... 40 Pan-genome analysis of 45 Aliivibrio genomes ................................................................................................. 48 Quorum sensing genes in Aliivibrio genomes .................................................................................................... 53 Detection of the CRISPR defense system ......................................................................................................... 58 Discussion .............................................................................................................................................................. 61 Assembly and Annotation .................................................................................................................................. 61 Draft genome assembly proves the presence of repeat sequences................................................................. 61 Contig mapping explain greater DNA variation among A. wodanis ............................................................. 61 Number of annotated genes varies greatly within the Aliivibrio genus ......................................................... 62 Phylogeny .......................................................................................................................................................... 63 High resolution achieved on the basis on six housekeeping loci ................................................................... 63 Network analysis of Aliivibrio emphasized the existence of novel species................................................... 63 Individual gene loci share unique features .................................................................................................... 64 Pan-genome analysis.......................................................................................................................................... 67 Pan-genome analysis proves Aliivibrio to be a diverse genus with a moderately conserved core ................ 67 The content of the pan-genome was syntenic only at the species level and comprised a wealth of inconsistent and unknown gene products ...................................................................................................... 68 The genome core distances showed favorable resolution in separating species ............................................ 70 Quorum sensing ................................................................................................................................................. 71 The AinR/AinS system is not consistent in the Aliivibrio genera ................................................................. 71 Novel form of lux operon identified in A. modi ............................................................................................ 72 Additional quorum
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Unlocking the Genomic Taxonomy of the Prochlorococcus Collective
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.09.980698; this version posted March 11, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. Unlocking the genomic taxonomy of the Prochlorococcus collective Diogo Tschoeke1#, Livia Vidal1#, Mariana Campeão1, Vinícius W. Salazar1, Jean Swings1,2, Fabiano Thompson1*, Cristiane Thompson1* 1Laboratory of Microbiology. SAGE-COPPE and Institute of Biology. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro. Brazil. Av. Carlos Chagas Fo 373, CEP 21941-902, RJ, Brazil. 2Laboratory of Microbiology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. *Corresponding authors: E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected] Phone no.: +5521981041035, +552139386567 #These authors contributed equally. ABSTRACT 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.09.980698; this version posted March 11, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthetic prokaryote on our planet. The extensive ecological literature on the Prochlorococcus collective (PC) is based on the assumption that it comprises one single genus comprising the species Prochlorococcus marinus, containing itself a collective of ecotypes. Ecologists adopt the distributed genome hypothesis of an open pan-genome to explain the observed genomic diversity and evolution patterns of the ecotypes within PC.
    [Show full text]
  • Diverse Deep-Sea Anglerfishes Share a Genetically Reduced Luminous
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Diverse deep-sea anglerfishes share a genetically reduced luminous symbiont that is acquired from the environment Lydia J Baker1*, Lindsay L Freed2, Cole G Easson2,3, Jose V Lopez2, Dante´ Fenolio4, Tracey T Sutton2, Spencer V Nyholm5, Tory A Hendry1* 1Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, New York, United States; 2Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, United States; 3Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, United States; 4Center for Conservation and Research, San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, United States; 5Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, United States Abstract Deep-sea anglerfishes are relatively abundant and diverse, but their luminescent bacterial symbionts remain enigmatic. The genomes of two symbiont species have qualities common to vertically transmitted, host-dependent bacteria. However, a number of traits suggest that these symbionts may be environmentally acquired. To determine how anglerfish symbionts are transmitted, we analyzed bacteria-host codivergence across six diverse anglerfish genera. Most of the anglerfish species surveyed shared a common species of symbiont. Only one other symbiont species was found, which had a specific relationship with one anglerfish species, Cryptopsaras couesii. Host and symbiont phylogenies lacked congruence, and there was no statistical support for codivergence broadly. We also recovered symbiont-specific gene sequences from water collected near hosts, suggesting environmental persistence of symbionts. Based on these results we conclude that diverse anglerfishes share symbionts that are acquired from the environment, and *For correspondence: that these bacteria have undergone extreme genome reduction although they are not vertically [email protected] (LJB); transmitted.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Bacterial Shape Complexity by a Curvature-Inducing Module
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.20.954503; this version posted February 20, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. Title: The evolution of bacterial shape complexity by a curvature-inducing module Authors: Nicholas R. Martin, Edith Blackman, Benjamin P. Bratton, Thomas M. Bartlett†, Zemer Gitai*. Affiliations: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA *Correspondence to: [email protected] †Present address: Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 Abstract: Bacteria can achieve a staggering diversity of cell shapes that promote critical functions like growth, motility, and virulence1-4. Previous studies suggested that bacteria establish complex shapes by co-opting the core machineries essential for elongation and division5,6. In contrast, we discovered a two-protein module, CrvAB, that can curve bacteria autonomously of the major elongation and division machinery by forming a dynamic, asymmetrically-localized structure in the periplasm. CrvAB is essential for curvature in its native species, Vibrio cholerae, and is sufficient to curve multiple heterologous species spanning 2.5 billion years of evolution. Thus, modular shape determinants can promote the evolution of morphological complexity independently of existing cell shape regulation. Main Text: Cells come in a variety of shapes that contribute to fitness in diverse environments 1,2,7,8. In bacteria, cell curvature can influence motility and host colonization 1,3,4.
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity and Evolution of Bacterial Bioluminescence Genes in the Global Ocean Thomas Vannier, Pascal Hingamp, Floriane Turrel, Lisa Tanet, Magali Lescot, Y
    Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean Thomas Vannier, Pascal Hingamp, Floriane Turrel, Lisa Tanet, Magali Lescot, Y. Timsit To cite this version: Thomas Vannier, Pascal Hingamp, Floriane Turrel, Lisa Tanet, Magali Lescot, et al.. Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean. NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics, Oxford University Press, 2020, 2 (2), 10.1093/nargab/lqaa018. hal-02514159 HAL Id: hal-02514159 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02514159 Submitted on 21 Mar 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Published online 14 March 2020 NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics, 2020, Vol. 2, No. 2 1 doi: 10.1093/nargab/lqaa018 Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean Thomas Vannier 1,2,*, Pascal Hingamp1,2, Floriane Turrel1, Lisa Tanet1, Magali Lescot 1,2,* and Youri Timsit 1,2,* 1Aix Marseille Univ, Universite´ de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO UM110, 13288 Marseille, France and 2Research / Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022 Tara GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/nargab/article-abstract/2/2/lqaa018/5805306 by guest on 21 March 2020 75016 Paris, France Received October 21, 2019; Revised February 14, 2020; Editorial Decision March 02, 2020; Accepted March 06, 2020 ABSTRACT ganisms and is particularly widespread in marine species (7–9).
    [Show full text]
  • Revival and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Luminous Bacterial Cultures of MW Beijerinck
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Historical microbiology: revival and phylogenetic analysis of the luminous bacterial cultures of M. W. Beijerinck Marian J. Figge1, Lesley A. Robertson2, Jennifer C. Ast3 & Paul V. Dunlap3 1The Netherlands Culture Collection of Bacteria, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands; 2Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands; and 3Department of Ecological and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Correspondence: Paul V. Dunlap, Abstract Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 North Luminous bacteria isolated by Martinus W. Beijerinck were sealed in glass University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, ampoules in 1924 and 1925 and stored under the names Photobacterium phos- USA. Tel.: +1 734 615 9099; fax: +1 734 phoreum and ‘Photobacterium splendidum’. To determine if the stored cultures 763 0544; e-mail: [email protected] were viable and to assess their evolutionary relationship with currently recog- nized bacteria, portions of the ampoule contents were inoculated into culture Present address: Jennifer C. Ast, medium. Growth and luminescence were evident after 13 days of incubation, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Departments of Molecular Evolution and Limnology, Uppsala indicating the presence of viable cells after more than 80 years of storage. The University, Norbyva¨ gen 18C, 752 36, Beijerinck strains are apparently the oldest bacterial cultures to be revived from Uppsala, Sweden. storage. Multi-locus sequence analysis, based on the 16S rRNA, gapA, gyrB, pyrH, recA, luxA, and luxB genes, revealed that the Beijerinck strains are distant Received 3 May 2011; revised 21 July 2011; from the type strains of P.
    [Show full text]
  • (COVIS) Overview
    National Enteric Disease Surveillance: Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance (COVIS) Surveillance System Overview: Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance (COVIS) Background on infection with species from the family Vibrionaceae Infection with pathogenic species of the family Vibrionaceae can cause two distinct categories of infection: cholera and vibriosis, both of which are nationally notifiable. Cholera is, by definition, caused by infection with toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139 and was first reported in the United States in 1832. Infection is characterized by acute, watery diarrhea. An average of 5-10 cases of cholera are reported annually in the United States; most are acquired during international travel, however, on average 1-2 per year are domestically acquired. An increase in the number of cholera cases reported in the United States has occurred when there are cholera outbreaks in the Western Hemisphere, such as Latin America in the 1990s and Haiti in 2010, with almost all attributable to exposures during international travel. CDC annually reports to the World Health Organization all confirmed cholera cases diagnosed in the United States. Vibriosis is caused by infection with any species of the family Vibrionaceae (excluding toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139), with an estimated 80,000 cases and 300 deaths annually in the United States (1). The most common clinical manifestations are watery diarrhea, primary septicemia, wound infection, and otitis externa. Risk factors for illness include consumption of shellfish,
    [Show full text]
  • Characterization of Bacterial Communities of Cold-Smoked Salmon During Storage
    foods Article Characterization of Bacterial Communities of Cold-Smoked Salmon during Storage Aurélien Maillet 1,2,* , Pauline Denojean 2, Agnès Bouju-Albert 2 , Erwann Scaon 1 ,Sébastien Leuillet 1, Xavier Dousset 2, Emmanuel Jaffrès 2,Jérôme Combrisson 1 and Hervé Prévost 2 1 Biofortis Mérieux NutriSciences, 3 route de la Chatterie, 44800 Saint-Herblain, France; [email protected] (E.S.); [email protected] (S.L.); [email protected] (J.C.) 2 INRAE, UMR Secalim, Oniris, Route de Gachet, CS 44307 Nantes, France; [email protected] (P.D.); [email protected] (A.B.-A.); [email protected] (X.D.); [email protected] (E.J.); [email protected] (H.P.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Cold-smoked salmon is a widely consumed ready-to-eat seafood product that is a fragile commodity with a long shelf-life. The microbial ecology of cold-smoked salmon during its shelf-life is well known. However, to our knowledge, no study on the microbial ecology of cold-smoked salmon using next-generation sequencing has yet been undertaken. In this study, cold-smoked salmon microbiotas were investigated using a polyphasic approach composed of cultivable methods, V3—V4 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding and chemical analyses. Forty-five cold-smoked salmon products processed in three different factories were analyzed. The metabarcoding approach highlighted 12 dominant genera previously reported as fish spoilers: Firmicutes Staphylococcus, Carnobacterium, Lactobacillus, β-Proteobacteria Photobacterium, Vibrio, Aliivibrio, Salinivibrio, Enterobacteriaceae Serratia, Citation: Maillet, A.; Denojean, P.; Pantoea γ Psychrobacter, Shewanella Pseudomonas Bouju-Albert, A.; Scaon, E.; Leuillet, , -Proteobacteria and .
    [Show full text]
  • Intrahepatic Bacterial Metataxonomic Signature in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver
    Hepatology ORIGINAL RESEARCH Intrahepatic bacterial metataxonomic signature in Gut: first published as 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318811 on 2 January 2020. Downloaded from non- alcoholic fatty liver disease Silvia Sookoian ,1,2 Adrian Salatino,1,3 Gustavo Osvaldo Castaño,4 Maria Silvia Landa,1,3 Cinthia Fijalkowky,1,3 Martin Garaycoechea,5 Carlos Jose Pirola 1,3 ► Additional material is ABSTRact published online only. To view Objective We aimed to characterise the liver tissue Significance of this study please visit the journal online bacterial metataxonomic signature in two independent (http:// dx. doi. org/ 10. 1136/ What is already known on this subject? gutjnl- 2019- 318811). cohorts of patients with biopsy- proven non- alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) diagnosis, as differences in ► The natural history of non- alcoholic fatty liver For numbered affiliations see disease (NAFLD) is modulated by genetic and end of article. the host phenotypic features—from moderate to severe obesity—may be associated with significant changes in environmental factors. ► Recent discoveries revealed the role of the Correspondence to the microbial DNA profile. Dr Silvia Sookoian, Institute Design and methods Liver tissue samples from 116 gut microbiota in human health and disease, of Medical Research A Lanari, individuals, comprising of 47 NAFLD overweight or including NAFLD. However, the impact of the University of Buenos Aires moderately obese patients, 50 NAFLD morbidly obese liver tissue microbial DNA profiling on the Faculty of Medicine, Buenos disease biology remains unknown. Aires, 10109 CABA, Argentina; patients elected for bariatric surgery and 19 controls, ssookoian@ intramed. net were analysed using high- throughput 16S rRNA gene What are the new findings? Dr Carlos Jose Pirola; sequencing.
    [Show full text]
  • High Variability of Levels of Aliivibrio and Lactic Acid Bacteria in the Intestinal Microbiota of Farmed Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar L
    Ann Microbiol (2015) 65:2343–2353 DOI 10.1007/s13213-015-1076-3 ORIGINAL ARTICLE High variability of levels of Aliivibrio and lactic acid bacteria in the intestinal microbiota of farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. Félix A. Godoy1 & Claudio D. Miranda2,3 & Geraldine D. Wittwer1 & Carlos P. Aranda1 & Raúl Calderón4 Received: 10 November 2014 /Accepted: 11 March 2015 /Published online: 16 April 2015 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and the University of Milan 2015 Abstract In the present study, the structure of the intestinal structure of the intestinal microbiota of farmed Atlantic salm- microbiota of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) was studied on enabling detection of a minority of taxa not previously using culture and culture-independent methods. Three adult reported as part of the intestinal microbiota of salmonids, in- specimens of S. salar were collected from a commercial salm- cluding the genera Hydrogenophilus, Propionibacterium, on farm in Chile, and their intestinal microbiota were studied Cronobacter, Enhydrobacter, Veillonella, Prevotella,and by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of pure cultures Atopostipes, as well as to evaluate the health status of farmed as well as of clone libraries. Out of the 74 bacterial isolates, fish when evaluating the dominance of potential pathogenic Pseudomonas was the most predominant genus among cul- species and the incidence of lactic acid bacteria. tured microbiota. In clone libraries, 325 clones were obtained from three adult fish, and a total of 36 operational taxonomic Keywords Aquaculture . Intestinal microbiota . Aliivibrio . units (OTUs) were identified. This indicated that lactic acid Salmon farming . Salmo salar bacteria (Weissella, Leuconostoc, and Lactococcus genera) comprised more than 50 % of identified clones in two fishes.
    [Show full text]
  • Genomic Taxonomy of Vibrios
    Downloaded from orbit.dtu.dk on: Dec 18, 2017 Genomic taxonomy of vibrios Thompson, Cristiane C.; Vicente, Ana Carolina P.; Souza, Rangel C.; Vasconcelos, Ana Tereza R.; Vesth, Tammi Camilla; Alves, Nelson Jr; Ussery, David; Iida, Tetsuya; Thompson, FL Published in: B M C Evolutionary Biology Link to article, DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-9-258 Publication date: 2009 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link back to DTU Orbit Citation (APA): Thompson, C. C., Vicente, A. C. P., Souza, R. C., Vasconcelos, A. T. R., Vesth, T. C., Alves, N. J., ... Thompson, F. L. (2009). Genomic taxonomy of vibrios. B M C Evolutionary Biology, 9, 258. DOI: 10.1186/1471- 2148-9-258 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. BMC Evolutionary Biology BioMed Central Research article Open Access Genomic taxonomy of vibrios Cristiane C Thompson*1, Ana Carolina P Vicente1, Rangel C Souza2, Ana Tereza R Vasconcelos2, Tammi Vesth3, Nelson Alves Jr4, David W Ussery3, Tetsuya Iida5 and Fabiano L Thompson*4 Address: 1Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Microrganims, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2National Laboratory for Scientific Computing, Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Av.
    [Show full text]
  • Microbial Colonization in Marine Environments: Overview of Current Knowledge and Emerging Research Topics
    Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Review Microbial Colonization in Marine Environments: Overview of Current Knowledge and Emerging Research Topics Gabriella Caruso Institute of Polar Sciences, National Reasearch Council (ISP-CNR), Spianata S. Raineri 86, 98122 Messina, Italy; [email protected]; Tel.: +39-090-6015423; Fax: +39-090-669007 Received: 13 December 2019; Accepted: 22 January 2020; Published: 24 January 2020 Abstract: Microbial biofilms are biological structures composed of surface-attached microbial communities embedded in an extracellular polymeric matrix. In aquatic environments, the microbial colonization of submerged surfaces is a complex process involving several factors, related to both environmental conditions and to the physical-chemical nature of the substrates. Several studies have addressed this issue; however, more research is still needed on microbial biofilms in marine ecosystems. After a brief report on environmental drivers of biofilm formation, this study reviews current knowledge of microbial community attached to artificial substrates, as obtained by experiments performed on several material types deployed in temperate and extreme polar marine ecosystems. Depending on the substrate, different microbial communities were found, sometimes highlighting the occurrence of species-specificity. Future research challenges and concluding remarks are also considered. Emphasis is given to future perspectives in biofilm studies and their potential applications, related to biofouling prevention (such as cell-to-cell communication by quorum sensing or improved knowledge of drivers/signals affecting biological settlement) as well as to the potential use of microbial biofilms as sentinels of environmental changes and new candidates for bioremediation purposes. Keywords: biofilms; microbes; colonization; substrates; temperate areas; polar regions 1. Introduction Biofilm formation on substrate surfaces is the first step in biofouling formation [1–5].
    [Show full text]
  • View a Copy of This Licence, Visit
    Raimundo et al. Microbiome (2021) 9:43 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00970-2 RESEARCH Open Access Functional metagenomics reveals differential chitin degradation and utilization features across free-living and host-associated marine microbiomes I. Raimundo1†, R. Silva1†, L. Meunier1,2, S. M. Valente1, A. Lago-Lestón3, T. Keller-Costa1* and R. Costa1,4,5,6* Abstract Background: Chitin ranks as the most abundant polysaccharide in the oceans yet knowledge of shifts in structure and diversity of chitin-degrading communities across marine niches is scarce. Here, we integrate cultivation- dependent and -independent approaches to shed light on the chitin processing potential within the microbiomes of marine sponges, octocorals, sediments, and seawater. Results: We found that cultivatable host-associated bacteria in the genera Aquimarina, Enterovibrio, Microbulbifer, Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella, and Vibrio were able to degrade colloidal chitin in vitro. Congruent with enzymatic activity bioassays, genome-wide inspection of cultivated symbionts revealed that Vibrio and Aquimarina species, particularly, possess several endo- and exo-chitinase-encoding genes underlying their ability to cleave the large chitin polymer into oligomers and dimers. Conversely, Alphaproteobacteria species were found to specialize in the utilization of the chitin monomer N-acetylglucosamine more often. Phylogenetic assessments uncovered a high degree of within-genome diversification of multiple, full-length endo-chitinase genes for Aquimarina and Vibrio strains, suggestive of a versatile chitin catabolism aptitude. We then analyzed the abundance distributions of chitin metabolism-related genes across 30 Illumina-sequenced microbial metagenomes and found that the endosymbiotic consortium of Spongia officinalis is enriched in polysaccharide deacetylases, suggesting the ability of the marine sponge microbiome to convert chitin into its deacetylated—and biotechnologically versatile—form chitosan.
    [Show full text]