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Unique and species-specific microbial communities in Oscarella lobularis and other Mediterranean Oscarella species (Porifera: Homoscleromorpha)

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Abstract

Homoscleromorph sponges such as Oscarella spp. are characterized by unique morphological features, and Homoscleromorpha were therefore recently proposed as the fourth class of sponges. The microbiology of these sponges was mainly studied by electron microscopy while molecular studies are scarce. The aim of this study was to characterize the bacteria in Oscarella sponges using molecular tools. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis revealed distinct bacterial profiles in five Oscarella species and several color morphs of Oscarella lobularis. These profiles are characteristic of low microbial abundance (LMA) sponges. This was further confirmed by analysis of a 16S rRNA clone library from O. lobularis that yielded a low phylum-level diversity with dominance of Alphaproteobacteria. Bacterial communities in O. lobularis were very similar among different individuals (collected at the same site and time), five different color morphs, and specimens from different depths and locations, indicating a species-specific association. These results allow novel insights into the microbiology of the first known LMA sponge genus within the new class Homoscleromorpha.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by DFG grant HE3299/1-3 to UH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Julius-von-Sachs Institute for Biological Sciences, University of Wuerzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 3, 97082, Wuerzburg, Germany

    Volker Gloeckner & Ute Hentschel

  2. Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, rue de la Batterie des Lions, 13007, Marseille, France

    Alexander V. Ereskovsky

  3. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333, Munich, Germany

    Susanne Schmitt

Authors
  1. Volker Gloeckner
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  2. Ute Hentschel
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  3. Alexander V. Ereskovsky
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  4. Susanne Schmitt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Schmitt.

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Communicated by M. Kuhl.

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Gloeckner, V., Hentschel, U., Ereskovsky, A.V. et al. Unique and species-specific microbial communities in Oscarella lobularis and other Mediterranean Oscarella species (Porifera: Homoscleromorpha). Mar Biol 160, 781–791 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2133-0

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