Dataset Information

Gill-associated bacteria are homogeneously selected in amphibious mangrove crabs to sustain host intertidal adaptation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The transition from water to air is a key event in the evolution of many marine organisms to access new food sources, escape water hypoxia, and exploit the higher and temperature-independent oxygen concentration of air. Despite the importance of microorganisms in host adaptation, their contribution to overcoming the challenges posed by the lifestyle changes from water to land is not well understood. To address this, we examined how microbial association with a key multifunctional organ, the gill, is involved in the intertidal adaptation of fiddler crabs, a dual-breathing organism.

Results

Electron microscopy revealed a rod-shaped bacterial layer tightly connected to the gill lamellae of the five crab species sampled across a latitudinal gradient from the central Red Sea to the southern Indian Ocean. The gill bacterial community diversity assessed with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was consistently low across crab species, and the same actinobacterial group, namely Ilumatobacter, was dominant regardless of the geographic location of the host. Using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics, we detected that these members of actinobacteria are potentially able to convert ammonia to amino acids and may help eliminate toxic sulphur compounds and carbon monoxide to which crabs are constantly exposed.

Conclusions

These results indicate that bacteria selected on gills can play a role in the adaptation of animals in dynamic intertidal ecosystems. Hence, this relationship is likely to be important in the ecological and evolutionary processes of the transition from water to air and deserves further attention, including the ontogenetic onset of this association. Video Abstract.

SUBMITTER: Fusi M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10463870 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Gill-associated bacteria are homogeneously selected in amphibious mangrove crabs to sustain host intertidal adaptation.

Fusi Marco M Ngugi David K DK Marasco Ramona R Booth Jenny Marie JM Cardinale Massimiliano M Sacchi Luciano L Clementi Emanuela E Yang Xinyuan X Garuglieri Elisa E Fodelianakis Stilianos S Michoud Grégoire G Daffonchio Daniele D

Microbiome 20230824 1

<h4>Background</h4>The transition from water to air is a key event in the evolution of many marine organisms to access new food sources, escape water hypoxia, and exploit the higher and temperature-independent oxygen concentration of air. Despite the importance of microorganisms in host adaptation, their contribution to overcoming the challenges posed by the lifestyle changes from water to land is not well understood. To address this, we examined how microbial association with a key multifunctio ...[more]

PMID: 37612775

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Dataset Information

Gill-associated bacteria are homogeneously selected in amphibious mangrove crabs to sustain host intertidal adaptation.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Gill-associated bacteria are homogeneously selected in amphibious mangrove crabs to sustain host intertidal adaptation.

Similar Datasets

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