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Coral-associated bacteria demonstrate phylosymbiosis and cophylogeny.

ABSTRACT: Scleractinian corals' microbial symbionts influence host health, yet how coral microbiomes assembled over evolution is not well understood. We survey bacterial and archaeal communities in phylogenetically diverse Australian corals representing more than 425 million years of diversification. We show that coral microbiomes are anatomically compartmentalized in both modern microbial ecology and evolutionary assembly. Coral mucus, tissue, and skeleton microbiomes differ in microbial community composition, richness, and response to host vs. environmental drivers. We also find evidence of coral-microbe phylosymbiosis, in which coral microbiome composition and richness reflect coral phylogeny. Surprisingly, the coral skeleton represents the most biodiverse coral microbiome, and also shows the strongest evidence of phylosymbiosis. Interactions between bacterial and coral phylogeny significantly influence the abundance of four groups of bacteria-including Endozoicomonas-like bacteria, which divide into host-generalist and host-specific subclades. Together these results trace microbial symbiosis across anatomy during the evolution of a basal animal lineage.

SUBMITTER: Pollock FJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6250698 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Coral-associated bacteria demonstrate phylosymbiosis and cophylogeny.

Pollock F Joseph FJ McMinds Ryan R Smith Styles S Bourne David G DG Willis Bette L BL Medina Mónica M Thurber Rebecca Vega RV Zaneveld Jesse R JR

Nature communications 20181122 1

Scleractinian corals' microbial symbionts influence host health, yet how coral microbiomes assembled over evolution is not well understood. We survey bacterial and archaeal communities in phylogenetically diverse Australian corals representing more than 425 million years of diversification. We show that coral microbiomes are anatomically compartmentalized in both modern microbial ecology and evolutionary assembly. Coral mucus, tissue, and skeleton microbiomes differ in microbial community compos ...[more]

PMID: 30467310

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Project description:BackgroundCyanobacteria from the genus Microcystis can form large mucilaginous colonies with attached heterotrophic bacteria-their microbiome. However, the nature of the relationship between Microcystis and its microbiome remains unclear. Is it a long-term, evolutionarily stable association? Which partners benefit? Here we report the genomic diversity of 109 individual Microcystis colonies-including cyanobacteria and associated bacterial genomes-isolated in situ and without culture from Lake Champlain, Canada and Pampulha Reservoir, Brazil.ResultsWe identified 14 distinct Microcystis genotypes from Canada, of which only two have been previously reported, and four genotypes specific to Brazil. Microcystis genetic diversity was much greater between than within colonies, consistent with colony growth by clonal expansion rather than aggregation of Microcystis cells. We also identified 72 bacterial species in the microbiome. Each Microcystis genotype had a distinct microbiome composition, and more closely related genotypes had more similar microbiomes. This pattern of phylosymbiosis could be explained by co-phylogeny in only two out of the nine most prevalent associated bacterial genera, Roseomonas and Rhodobacter. These phylogenetically associated genera could enrich the metabolic repertoire of Microcystis, for example by encoding the biosynthesis of complementary carotenoid molecules. In contrast, other colony-associated bacteria showed weaker signals of co-phylogeny, but stronger evidence of horizontal gene transfer with Microcystis. These observations suggest that acquired genes are more likely to be retained in both partners (Microcystis and members of its microbiome) when they are loosely associated, whereas one gene copy is sufficient when the association is physically tight and evolutionarily long-lasting.ConclusionsWe have introduced a method for culture-free isolation of single colonies from nature followed by metagenomic sequencing, which could be applied to other types of microbes. Together, our results expand the known genetic diversity of both Microcystis and its microbiome in natural settings, and support their long-term, specific, and potentially beneficial associations. Video Abstract.

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Coral-associated bacteria demonstrate phylosymbiosis and cophylogeny.

Publications

Coral-associated bacteria demonstrate phylosymbiosis and cophylogeny.

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