The freshwater sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis harbours diverse Pseudomonas species (Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudomonadales) with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria are believed to play an important role in the fitness and biochemistry of sponges (Porifera). Pseudomonas species (Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudomonadales) are capable of colonizing a broad range of eukaryotic hosts, but knowledge of their diversity and function in freshwater invertebrates is rudimentary. We assessed the diversity, structure and antimicrobial activities of Pseudomonas spp. in the freshwater sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis. Polymerase Chain Reaction--Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprints of the global regulator gene gacA revealed distinct structures between sponge-associated and free-living Pseudomonas communities, unveiling previously unsuspected diversity of these assemblages in freshwater. Community structures varied across E. fluviatilis spe

SUBMITTER: Keller-Costa T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3922812 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature