Sponge exhalent seawater contains a unique chemical profile of dissolved organic matter.

ABSTRACT: Sponges are efficient filter feeders, removing significant portions of particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM) from the water column. While the assimilation and respiration of POM and DOM by sponges and their abundant microbial symbiont communities have received much attention, there is virtually no information on the impact of sponge holobiont metabolism on the composition of DOM at a molecular-level. We applied untargeted and targeted metabolomics techniques to characterize DOM in seawater samples prior to entering the sponge (inhalant reef water), in samples exiting the sponge (exhalent seawater), and in samples collected just outside the reef area (off reef seawater). Samples were collected from two sponge species, Ircinia campana and Spheciospongia vesparium,

SUBMITTER: Fiore CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5234435 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature