Prevalence, complete genome, and metabolic potentials of a phylogenetically novel cyanobacterial symbiont in the coral-killing sponge, Terpios hoshinota.

ABSTRACT: Terpios hoshinota is an aggressive, space-competing sponge that kills various stony corals. Outbreaks of this species have led to intense damage to coral reefs in many locations. Here, the first large-scale 16S rRNA gene survey across three oceans revealed that bacteria related to the taxa Prochloron, Endozoicomonas, SAR116, Ruegeria, and unclassified Proteobacteria were prevalent in T. hoshinota. A Prochloron-related bacterium was the most dominant and prevalent cyanobacterium in T. hoshinota. The complete genome of this uncultivated cyanobacterium and pigment analysis demonstrated that it has phycobiliproteins and lacks chlorophyll b, which is inconsistent with the definition of Prochloron. Furthermore, the cyanobacterium was phylogenetically distinct from Prochloron, strongly suggesting

SUBMITTER: Chen YH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9298193 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature