Effects of reciprocal transplantation on the microbiome and putative nitrogen cycling functions of the intertidal sponge, Hymeniacidon heliophila.

ABSTRACT: Microbial symbionts in sponges are ubiquitous, forming complex and highly diverse host-specific communities. Conspecific sponges display remarkable stability in their symbiont communities, both spatially and temporally, yet extreme fluctuations in environmental factors can cause shifts in host-symbiont associations. We previously demonstrated that the marine sponge Hymeniacidon heliophila displayed significant community-level differences in microbial symbiont diversity, structure and composition when sampled from intertidal and subtidal environments. Here, we conducted a 70-day reciprocal transplant experiment to directly test the effect of tidal exposure on the microbiome of H. heliophila, using next-generation Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene sequences to characterize symbiont commun

SUBMITTER: Weigel BL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5324122 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature