Characterization of the bacterial community of the chemically defended Hawaiian sacoglossan Elysia rufescens.

ABSTRACT: Sacoglossans are characterized by the ability to sequester functional chloroplasts from their algal diet through a process called kleptoplasty, enabling them to photosynthesize. The bacterial diversity associated with sacoglossans is not well understood. In this study, we coupled traditional cultivation-based methods with 454 pyrosequencing to examine the bacterial communities of the chemically defended Hawaiian sacoglossan Elysia rufescens and its secreted mucus. E. rufescens contains a defense molecule, kahalalide F, that is possibly of bacterial origin and is of interest because of its antifungal and anticancer properties. Our results showed that there is a diverse bacterial assemblage associated with E. rufescens and its mucus, with secreted mucus harboring higher bacterial richness th

SUBMITTER: Davis J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3811551 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature