Dataset Information

Aurelia aurita Ephyrae Reshape a Coastal Microbial Community.

ABSTRACT: Over the last two decades, increasing attention has been paid to the impact of jellyfish blooms on marine communities. Aurelia aurita is one of the most studied of the Scyphozoans, and several studies have been carried out to describe its role as a top-down controller within the classical food web. However, little data are available to define the effects of these jellyfish on microbial communities. The aims of this study were to describe the predation impact of A. aurita ephyrae on a natural microplanktonic assemblage, and to determine any reshaping effects on the prokaryote community composition and functioning. Surface coastal water was used to set up a 24-h grazing experiment in microcosms. Samples were collected to determine the variations in prey biomass, heterotrophic carbon production (HCP), extracellular leucine aminopeptidase activity, and grazing pressure. A next-generation sequencing technique was used to investigate biodiversity shifts within the prokaryote and protist communities through the small subunit rRNA tag approach. This study shows that A. aurita ephyrae were responsible for large decreases in the abundances of the more motile microplankton groups, such as tintinnids, Dinophyceae, and aloricate ciliates. Bacillariophyceae and Mediophyceae showed smaller reductions. No evidence of selective predation emerged in the analysis of the community diversity down to the family level. The heterotrophic prokaryote biomass increased significantly (by up to 45%), in parallel with increases in HCP and leucine aminopeptidase activity (40%). Significant modifications were detected in prokaryotic community composition. Some classes of Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia showed higher relative abundances when exposed to A. aurita ephyrae, while there was a net decrease for Alphaproteobacteria. Overall, this study provides new insight into the effects of A. aurita on microbial communities, underlining their selective predation toward the more motile groups of microplankton and their impact on prokaryotic assemblages, by favoring blooms of copiotrophic taxa.

SUBMITTER: Zoccarato L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4871886 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Aurelia aurita Ephyrae Reshape a Coastal Microbial Community.

Zoccarato Luca L Celussi Mauro M Pallavicini Alberto A Fonda Umani Serena S

Frontiers in microbiology 20160519

Over the last two decades, increasing attention has been paid to the impact of jellyfish blooms on marine communities. Aurelia aurita is one of the most studied of the Scyphozoans, and several studies have been carried out to describe its role as a top-down controller within the classical food web. However, little data are available to define the effects of these jellyfish on microbial communities. The aims of this study were to describe the predation impact of A. aurita ephyrae on a natural mic ...[more]

PMID: 27242762

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Project description:BackgroundThe moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita is a widespread scyphozoan species that forms large seasonal blooms. Here we provide the first comprehensive view of the entire complex life of the Aurelia Red Sea strain by employing transcriptomic profiling of each stage from planula to mature medusa.ResultsA de novo transcriptome was assembled from Illumina RNA-Seq data generated from six stages throughout the Aurelia life cycle. Transcript expression profiling yielded clusters of annotated transcripts with functions related to each specific life-cycle stage. Free-swimming planulae were found highly enriched for functions related to cilia and microtubules, and the drastic morphogenetic process undergone by the planula while establishing the future body of the polyp may be mediated by specifically expressed Wnt ligands. Specific transcripts related to sensory functions were found in the strobila and the ephyra, whereas extracellular matrix functions were enriched in the medusa due to high expression of transcripts such as collagen, fibrillin and laminin, presumably involved in mesoglea development. The CL390-like gene, suggested to act as a strobilation hormone, was also highly expressed in the advanced strobila of the Red Sea species, and in the medusa stage we identified betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase, an enzyme that may play an important part in maintaining equilibrium of the medusa's bell. Finally, we identified the transcription factors participating in the Aurelia life-cycle and found that 70% of these 487 identified transcription factors were expressed in a developmental-stage-specific manner.ConclusionsThis study provides the first scyphozoan transcriptome covering the entire developmental trajectory of the life cycle of Aurelia. It highlights the importance of numerous stage-specific transcription factors in driving morphological and functional changes throughout this complex metamorphosis, and is expected to be a valuable resource to the community.

Project description:All multicellular organisms are associated with microbial communities, ultimately forming a metaorganism. Several studies conducted on well-established model organisms point to immunological, metabolic, and behavioral benefits of the associated microbiota for the host. Consequently, a microbiome can influence the physiology of a host; moreover, microbial community shifts can affect host health and fitness. The present study aimed to evaluate the significance and functional role of the native microbiota for life cycle transitions and fitness of the cnidarian moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita A comprehensive host fitness experiment was conducted studying the polyp life stage and integrating 12 combinations of treatments with microbiota modification (sterile conditions, foreign food bacteria, and potential pathogens). Asexual reproduction, e.g., generation of daughter polyps, and the formation and release of ephyrae were highly affected in the absence of the native microbiota, ultimately resulting in a halt of strobilation and ephyra release. Assessment of further fitness traits showed that health, growth, and feeding rate were decreased in the absence and upon community changes of the native microbiota, e.g., when challenged with selected bacteria. Moreover, changes in microbial community patterns were detected by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing during the course of the experiment. This demonstrated that six operational taxonomic units (OTUs) significantly correlated and explained up to 97% of fitness data variability, strongly supporting the association of impaired fitness with the absence/presence of specific bacteria. Conclusively, our study provides new insights into the importance and function of the microbiome for asexual reproduction, health, and fitness of the basal metazoan A. auritaIMPORTANCE All multicellular organisms are associated with a diverse and specific community of microorganisms; consequently, the microbiome is of fundamental importance for health and fitness of the multicellular host. However, studies on microbiome contribution to host fitness are in their infancy, in particular, for less well-established hosts such as the moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita Here, we studied the impact of the native microbiome on the asexual reproduction and on further fitness traits (health, growth, and feeding) of the basal metazoan due to induced changes in its microbiome. We observed significant impact on all fitness traits analyzed, in particular, in the absence of the protective microbial shield and when challenged with marine potentially pathogenic bacterial isolates. Notable is the identified crucial importance of the native microbiome for the generation of offspring, consequently affecting life cycle decisions. Thus, we conclude that the microbiome is essential for the maintenance of a healthy metaorganism.

Dataset Information

Aurelia aurita Ephyrae Reshape a Coastal Microbial Community.

Publications

Aurelia aurita Ephyrae Reshape a Coastal Microbial Community.

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