Host Specificity for Bacterial, Archaeal and Fungal Communities Determined for High- and Low-Microbial Abundance Sponge Species in Two Genera.

ABSTRACT: Sponges are engaged in intimate symbioses with a diversity of microorganisms from all three domains of life, namely Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Sponges have been well studied and categorized for their bacterial communities, some displaying a high microbial abundance (HMA), while others show low microbial abundance (LMA). However, the associated Archaea and Eukarya have remained relatively understudied. We assessed the bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic diversities in the LMA sponge species Dysidea avara and Dysidea etheria by deep amplicon sequencing, and compared the results to those in the HMA sponges Aplysina aerophoba and Aplysina cauliformis. D. avara and A. aerophoba are sympatric in the Mediterranean Sea, while D. etheria and A.

SUBMITTER: Chaib De Mares M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5742488 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature