Dataset Information

The Microbial Community of Tetrodotoxin-Bearing and Non-Tetrodotoxin-Bearing Ribbon Worms (Nemertea) from the Sea of Japan.

ABSTRACT: A potent marine toxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX), found in a great variety of marine and some terrestrial species, leaves intriguing questions about its origin and distribution in marine ecosystems. TTX-producing bacteria were found in the cultivable microflora of many TTX-bearing hosts, thereby providing strong support for the hypothesis that the toxin is of bacterial origin in these species. However, metagenomic studies of TTX-bearing animals addressing the whole microbial composition and estimating the contribution of TTX-producing bacteria to the overall toxicity of the host were not conducted. The present study is the first to characterize and compare the 16S rRNA gene data obtained from four TTX-bearing and four non-TTX-bearing species of marine ribbon worms. The statistical analysis showed that different nemertean species harbor distinct bacterial communities, while members of the same species mostly share more similar microbiomes. The bacterial species historically associated with TTX production were found in all studied samples but predominated in TTX-bearing nemertean species. This suggests that deeper knowledge of the microbiome of TTX-bearing animals is a key to understanding the origin of TTX in marine ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Melnikova DI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7143766 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Microbial Community of Tetrodotoxin-Bearing and Non-Tetrodotoxin-Bearing Ribbon Worms (Nemertea) from the Sea of Japan.

Melnikova Daria I DI Magarlamov Timur Yu TY

Marine drugs 20200323 3

A potent marine toxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX), found in a great variety of marine and some terrestrial species, leaves intriguing questions about its origin and distribution in marine ecosystems. TTX-producing bacteria were found in the cultivable microflora of many TTX-bearing hosts, thereby providing strong support for the hypothesis that the toxin is of bacterial origin in these species. However, metagenomic studies of TTX-bearing animals addressing the whole microbial composition and estimating ...[more]

PMID: 32210160

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Project description:Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is one of the most potent naturally occurring compounds and is responsible for many human intoxications worldwide. Paphies australis are endemic clams to New Zealand which contain varying concentrations of TTX. Research suggests that P. australis accumulate the toxin exogenously, but the source remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to identify potential bacterial TTX-producers by exploring differences in bacterial communities in two organs of P. australis: the siphon and digestive gland. Samples from the digestive glands of a non-toxic bivalve Austrovenus stutchburyi that lives amongst toxic P. australis populations were also analyzed. Bacterial communities were characterized using 16S ribosomal RNA gene metabarcoding in P. australis sourced monthly from the Hokianga Harbor, a site known to have TTX-bearing clams, for 1 year, from ten sites with varying TTX concentrations around New Zealand, and in A. stutchburyi from the Hokianga Harbor. Tetrodotoxin was detected in P. australis from sites all around New Zealand and in all P. australis collected monthly from the Hokianga Harbor. The toxin averaged 150 ?g kg-1 over the year of sampling in the Hokianga Harbor but no TTX was detected in the A. stutchburyi samples from the same site. Bacterial species diversity differed amongst sites (p < 0.001, F = 5.9) and the diversity in siphon samples was significantly higher than in digestive glands (p < 0.001, F = 65.8). Spirochaetaceae (4-60%) and Mycoplasmataceae (16-78%) were the most abundant families in the siphons and the digestive glands, respectively. The bacterial communities were compared between sites with the lowest TTX concentrations and the Hokianga Harbor (site with the highest TTX concentrations), and the core bacterial communities from TTX-bearing individuals were analyzed. The results from both spatial and temporal studies corroborate with previous hypotheses that Vibrio and Bacillus could be responsible for the source of TTX in bivalves. The results from this study also indicate that marine cyanobacteria, in particular picocyanobacteria (e.g., Cyanobium, Synechococcus, Pleurocapsa, and Prochlorococcus), should be investigated further as potential TTX producers.

Dataset Information

The Microbial Community of Tetrodotoxin-Bearing and Non-Tetrodotoxin-Bearing Ribbon Worms (Nemertea) from the Sea of Japan.

Publications

The Microbial Community of Tetrodotoxin-Bearing and Non-Tetrodotoxin-Bearing Ribbon Worms (Nemertea) from the Sea of Japan.

Similar Datasets

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