Oophila is monophyletic within a three-taxon eukaryotic microbiome in egg masses of the salamander Ambystoma maculatum

Phylotranscriptomic relationships of the Oophila clade of green algae associated to amphibian egg masses

Green algae usually assigned to the genus Oophila are known to colonize egg capsules of amphibian egg masses across the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. We study the phylogenetic relationships of these algae using a phylotranscriptomic data set of 76 protein-coding single-copy nuclear genes. Our data set includes novel RNAseq data for six amphibian-associated and five free-living green algae, and draft genomes of two of the latter. Within the Oophila clade (nested within Moewusinia), we find samples from two European frogs (Rana dalmatina and R. temporaria) closely related to those of the North American frog R. aurora (Oophila subclade III). An isolate from the North American R. sylvatica (subclade IV) appears to be sister to the Japanese isolate from the salamander Hynobius nigrescens (subclade J1), and subclade I algae from Ambystoma maculatum are sister to all other lineages in the Oophila clade. Two free-living algae (Chlamydomonas nasuta and Cd. pseudogloeogama) are nested within the Oophila clade, and a strain of the type species of Chlorococcum (Cc. infusionum) is related to this assemblage. Our phylotranscriptomic tree suggests that recognition of different species within the Oophila clade ("clade B" of earlier studies) is warranted, and calls for a comprehensive taxonomic revision of Moewusinia.

Taxonomy and nomenclature of Oophila amblystomatis (Chlorophyceae, Chlamydomonadales)

The unicellular green alga Oophila amblystomatis was named by Lambert in 1905 based upon its association with egg masses of the spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum. We collected algal cells from Lambert's original egg capsule preparations that were contributed to Phycotheca Boreali-Americana (PBA) in 1905 and subjected them to DNA extraction and PCR with O. amblystomatis-specific 18S rRNA gene primers. DNA amplified from these preparations was cloned and nine clones were sequenced. Along with representative sequences from the Oophila clade and Chlorophyceae, a phylogenetic tree was inferred. Seven sequences clustered within the Oophila clade and two clustered with Chlamydomonas moewusii, which is included in a sister clade to Oophila. By sequencing algal material from the egg capsules of representative type material we can unambiguously characterize O. amblystomatis and define a monophyletic clade centered on this type material. Accordingly, we reject a recent proposal that this species be transferred to Chlorococcum.

Bacterial Diversity in Egg Capsular Fluid of the Spotted Salamander Ambystoma maculatum Decreases with Embryonic Development

Egg capsules within egg masses of the spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum host a symbiosis with the unicellular green alga Oophila amblystomatis. However, this alga is not the only microbe to inhabit those capsules, and the significance of these additional taxa for the symbiosis is unknown. Spatial and temporal patterns of bacterial diversity in egg capsules of A. maculatum have recently begun to be characterized, but patterns of bacterial diversity as a function of embryonic development are unknown. We sampled fluid from individual capsules in egg masses over a large range of host embryonic development in 2019 and 2020. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to examine how diversity and relative abundance of bacteria changed with embryonic development. In general, bacterial diversity decreased as embryos developed; significant differences were observed (depending on the metric) by embryonic development, pond, and year, and there were interaction effects. The function of bacteria in what is thought of as a bipartite symbiosis calls for further research.

Screening Salamanders for Symbionts

Microbial symbionts are broadly categorized by their impacts on host fitness: commensals, pathogens, and mutualists. However, recent investigations into the physiological basis of these impacts have revealed nuanced microbial influences on a wide range of host developmental, immunological, and physiological processes, including regeneration. Exploring these impacts begins with knowing which microbes are present. This methodological pipeline contains both targeted assays using PCR and culturing, as well as culture-independent approaches, to survey host salamander tissues for common and unknown microbial symbionts.

Organismal and cellular interactions in vertebrate-alga symbioses

Photosymbioses, intimate interactions between photosynthetic algal symbionts and heterotrophic hosts, are well known in invertebrate and protist systems. Vertebrate animals are an exception where photosynthetic microorganisms are not often considered part of the normal vertebrate microbiome, with a few exceptions in amphibian eggs. Here, we review the breadth of vertebrate diversity and explore where algae have taken hold in vertebrate fur, on vertebrate surfaces, in vertebrate tissues, and within vertebrate cells. We find that algae have myriad partnerships with vertebrate animals, from fishes to mammals, and that those symbioses range from apparent mutualisms to commensalisms to parasitisms. The exception in vertebrates, compared with other groups of eukaryotes, is that intracellular mutualisms and commensalisms with algae or other microbes are notably rare. We currently have no clear cell-in-cell (endosymbiotic) examples of a trophic mutualism in any vertebrate, while there is a broad diversity of such interactions in invertebrate animals and protists. This functional divergence in vertebrate symbioses may be related to vertebrate physiology or a byproduct of our adaptive immune system. Overall, we see that diverse algae are part of the vertebrate microbiome, broadly, with numerous symbiotic interactions occurring across all vertebrate and many algal clades. These interactions are being studied for their ecological, organismal, and cellular implications. This synthesis of vertebrate-algal associations may prove useful for the development of novel therapeutics: pairing algae with medical devices, tissue cultures, and artificial ecto- and endosymbioses.

Patterns of bacterial diversity in embryonic capsules of the spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum: an expanding view of a symbiosis

The unicellular green alga, Oophila amblystomatis, populates egg capsules of the spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum. This nutrient-exchange mutualism is widely perceived as a bipartite interaction, but the presence and contributing effects of bacteria to this symbiosis are unknown. We used standard cultivation techniques and amplicon sequencing of the V4/V5 region of 16S rRNA gene to identify and compare diversity of bacterial taxa in embryonic capsules with that in the aquatic breeding habitat. Our sampling regime allowed us to investigate diversity among individual capsules of an egg mass and between two ponds and sampling years. Capsules contain much lower diversity of bacteria than pond water, and spatial and temporal variation in intracapsular and pond bacterial diversity was observed. Despite this variation, sequences corresponding to species in the orders Burkholderiales and Oligoflexales were either prevalent or abundant, or both. Isolates most commonly recovered from capsules were closely related to species in the genus Herbaspirillum (Burkholderiaceae); other isolates were pseudomonads, but in all cases are closely related to known vascular plant-associated species. We conclude that, despite observed variation, there are bacterial taxa whose presence is held in common spatially and temporally among capsules and that the symbiosis between O. amblystomatis and A. maculatum may involve these taxa.

Diversity and substrate-specificity of green algae and other micro-eukaryotes colonizing amphibian clutches in Germany, revealed by DNA metabarcoding

Amphibian clutches are colonized by diverse but poorly studied communities of micro-organisms. One of the most noted ones is the unicellular green alga, Oophila amblystomatis, but the occurrence and role of other micro-organisms in the capsular chamber surrounding amphibian clutches have remained largely unstudied. Here, we undertook a multi-marker DNA metabarcoding study to characterize the community of algae and other micro-eukaryotes associated with agile frog (Rana dalmatina) clutches. Samplings were performed at three small ponds in Germany, from four substrates: water, sediment, tree leaves from the bottom of the pond, and R. dalmatina clutches. Sampling substrate strongly determined the community compositions of algae and other micro-eukaryotes. Therefore, as expected, the frog clutch-associated communities formed clearly distinct clusters. Clutch-associated communities in our study were structured by a plethora of not only green algae, but also diatoms and other ochrophytes. The most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in clutch samples were taxa from Chlamydomonas, Oophila, but also from Nitzschia and other ochrophytes. Sequences of Oophila "Clade B" were found exclusively in clutches. Based on additional phylogenetic analyses of 18S rDNA and of a matrix of 18 nuclear genes derived from transcriptomes, we confirmed in our samples the existence of two distinct clades of green algae assigned to Oophila in past studies. We hypothesize that "Clade B" algae correspond to the true Oophila, whereas "Clade A" algae are a series of Chlorococcum species that, along with other green algae, ochrophytes and protists, colonize amphibian clutches opportunistically and are often cultured from clutch samples due to their robust growth performance. The clutch-associated communities were subject to filtering by sampling location, suggesting that the taxa colonizing amphibian clutches can drastically differ depending on environmental conditions.