Microbial Dysbiosis: Rethinking Disease in Marine Ecosystems

Association of microbial community structure with gill disease in marine-stage farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); a yearlong study

BACKGROUND

Understanding the relationship between resident microbiota and disease in cultured fish represents an important and emerging area of study. Marine gill disorders in particular are considered an important challenge to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture, however relatively little is known regarding the role resident gill microbiota might play in providing protection from or potentiating different gill diseases. Here, 16S rRNA sequencing was used to examine the gill microbiome alongside fish health screening in farmed Atlantic salmon. Results were used to explore the relationship between microbial communities and gill disease.

RESULTS

Microbial community restructuring was observed throughout the sampling period and linked to varied drivers of change, including environmental conditions and severity of gill pathology. Taxa with significantly greater relative abundance on healthier gills included isolates within genus Shewanella, and taxa within family Procabacteriaceae. In contrast, altered abundance of Candidatus Branchiomonas and Rubritalea spp. were associated with damaged gills. Interestingly, more general changes in community richness and diversity were not associated with altered gill health, and thus not apparently deleterious to fish. Gross and histological gill scoring demonstrated seasonal shifts in gill pathology, with increased severity of gill damage in autumn. Specific infectious causes that contributed to observed pathology within the population included the gill disorder amoebic gill disease (AGD), however due to the uncontrolled nature of this study and likely mixed contribution of various causes of gill disease to observed pathology results do not strongly support an association between the microbial community and specific infectious or non-infectious drivers of gill pathology.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that the microbial community of farmed Atlantic salmon gills undergo continual restructuring in the marine environment, with mixed influences upon this change including environmental, host, and pathogenic factors. A significant association of specific taxa with different gill health states suggests these taxa might make meaningful indicators of gill health. Further research with more frequent sampling and deliberate manipulation of gills would provide important advancement of knowledge in this area. Overall, although much is still to be learnt regarding what constitutes a healthy or maladapted gill microbial community, the results of this study provide clear advancement of the field, providing new insight into the microbial community structure of gills during an annual production cycle of marine-stage farmed Atlantic salmon.

Fecal metagenomic and metabolomic analyses reveal non-invasive biomarkers of Flavobacterium psychrophilum infection in ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis)

With the rapid growth of inland aquaculture worldwide, side effects such as the discharge of nutrients and antibiotics pose a threat to the global environments. A sustainable future for aquaculture requires an effective management system, including the early detection of disease through the monitoring of specific biomarkers in aquaculture tanks. To this end, we investigated whether fish feces in aquaculture tanks could be used for non-invasive health monitoring using ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) infected with Flavobacterium psychrophilum, which causes bacterial cold-water disease worldwide. Feces that were subsequently produced in the tanks were used for metagenomic and metabolomic analyses. The relative abundances of the genera Cypionkella (0.6% ± 1.0%, 0.1% ± 0.2%), Klebsiella (11.2% ± 10.0%, 6.2% ± 5.9%), and F. psychrophilum (0.5% ± 1.0%, 0.0% ± 0.0%) were significantly higher in the feces of the infection challenge test tanks than in those of the control tanks. The abundances of cortisol, glucose, and acetate in the feces of the infection challenge test tanks were 2.4, 2.4, and 1.3 times higher, respectively, than those of the control tanks. Metagenome analysis suggested that acetate was produced by microbes such as Cypionkella. The abundances of indicated microbes or metabolites increased after day 4 of infection at the earliest, and were thus considered possible biomarkers. Our results suggest that feces produced in aquaculture tanks can potentially be used for non-invasive and holistic monitoring of fish diseases in aquaculture systems.

IMPORTANCE

The aquaculture industry is rapidly growing, yet sustainability remains a challenge. One crucial task is to reduce losses due to diseases. Monitoring fish health and detecting diseases early are key to establishing sustainable aquaculture. Using metagenomic and metabolomic analyses, we found that feces of ayu infected with Flavobacterium psychrophilum contain various specific biomarkers that increased 4 days post-challenge, at the earliest. Our findings are the first step in establishing a novel, non-invasive, and holistic monitoring method for fish diseases in aquaculture systems, especially in ayu, which is an important freshwater fish species in Asia, promoting a sustainable future.

Non-selective microbiota reduction after the elicitation of a seaweed's immune response

Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) is an integral part of the innate immune system of many eukaryotic hosts, assisting in the defence against pathogen invasions. In plants and animals, PTI exerts a selective pressure on the microbiota that can alter community composition. However, the effect of PTI on the microbiota for non-model hosts, including seaweeds, remains unknown. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction complemented with 16S rRNA gene and transcript amplicon sequencing, this study profiled the impact that PTI of the red seaweed Gracilaria gracilis has on its microbiota. PTI elicitation with agar oligosaccharides resulted in a significant reduction in the number of bacteria (by >75% within 72 h after treatment). However, the PTI elicitation did not cause any significant difference in the community diversity or structure. These findings demonstrated that PTI can be non-selective, and this might help to maintain a stable microbiota by uniformly reducing bacterial loads.

Testing a health baseline during a bivalve mollusc mortality event: An investigation into die-offs of pipi Paphies australis from Aotearoa New Zealand

Disease is a major threat to the economic, ecological and cultural services provided by wild bivalve populations. Over the past decade anecdotal reports on declining health of native bivalve populations around Aotearoa New Zealand have been supported by increasing observations of mass die-offs. Causes of declining health and mass die-offs of wild bivalves are not clear and could be due to a number of interactive and cumulative factors, including declining water quality, climate change, or disease. Pipi/kōkota (Paphies australis) within the Whangārei area (northern New Zealand) have suffered repeated die-offs and declining health since at least 2009. Baseline health data for wild native bivalve populations are scarce making it difficult to identify changes in pathogen infection prevalence and intensity and infer their importance to host health. This research aimed to examine and document the health of pipi in Whangārei with the objective of identifying factors that may contribute to their ill health and lack of population recovery. We sampled pipi from four sites within Whangārei, eight times across two years (total n = 640) to establish a health baseline using histopathology, general bacteriology, and qPCR for the intracellular bacteria Endozoicomonas spp. Three pipi mass die-offs occurred during the sampling window that were opportunistically sampled to compare against the health baseline established using healthy pipi. An increase in bacterial growth and a decrease in the abundance of Endozoicomonas spp. in mortality pipi was observed compared with the health baseline. Establishing a health baseline for pipi from Whangārei provided a benchmark to assess changes in a pipi population experiencing high mortality. Such data can help identify factors contributing to die-offs and to help inform what mitigation, if any, is possible in wild shellfish populations.

Investigating the outcomes of a threatened gorgonian in situ transplantation: Survival and microbiome diversity in Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1827)

Gorgonian octocorals are threatened by global and local stressors that can act synergistically to affect their health. In recent years, mass mortality events triggered by marine heatwaves have caused demographic declines in Mediterranean gorgonian populations that may lead to their collapse. Potential changes in microbiome composition under stressful conditions may further increase the susceptibility of the gorgonian holobiont to disease. Given the low recovery capacity of gorgonians, restoration approaches using transplantation are becoming an increasingly attractive option to counteract their decline. Here, we compared the survival and microbiome diversity of Paramuricea clavata colonies transplanted to sites differing in depth and local environmental conditions. Gorgonians sampled at a greater depth than the transplantation site were more likely to suffer necrosis after 1 year of monitoring. Gorgonian transplantation into environments disturbed by an anthropogenic source of pollution resulted in an imbalance of the microbiome with potential consequences on the success of restoration initiatives.

Differences in diversity and community composition of the shell microbiome of apparently healthy lobsters Homarus americanus across Atlantic Canada

Host-microbe dynamics are of increasing interest in marine research due to their role in host health and productivity. Changes in the shell microbiome of American lobsters have been associated with epizootic shell disease, a syndrome that is spreading northwards across the eastern U.S. and Canadian Atlantic coast. This study analyzed differences in alpha and beta diversity, as well as differentially abundant taxa, in the shell-associated bacterial community of apparently healthy lobsters from four lobster fishing areas (LFAs) in Atlantic Canada. Over 180 lobsters from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (PEI) were sampled during seven sampling events over four sampling months. The bacterial community was identified using novel PacBio long-read sequencing, while alpha and beta diversity parameters were analyzed using linear regression models and weighted UniFrac distances. The bacterial richness, diversity and evenness differed by sampling location, sampling month, and molt stage, but not by lobster sex or size, nor sampling depth. Similarly, based on LFA, sampling month, year and lobster molt stage, the shell microbiome differed in microbial community composition with up to 34 out of 162 taxa differing significantly in abundance between sampling groups. This large-scale microbial survey suggests that the shell microbial diversity of apparently healthy lobsters is influenced by spatial and temporal factors such as geographic location, as well as the length of time the carapace is exposed to the surrounding seawater.

Co-occurrence of native and invasive macroalgae might be facilitated under global warming

Climate change is driving compositional shifts in ecological communities directly by affecting species and indirectly through changes in species interactions. For example, competitive hierarchies can be inversed when competitive dominants are more susceptible to climate change. The brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus is a foundation species in the Baltic Sea, experiencing novel interactions with the invasive red seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla, which is known for its high tolerance to environmental stress. We investigated the direct and interactive effects of warming and co-occurrence of the two algal species on their performance, by applying four climate change-relevant temperature scenarios: 1) cooling ) 2 °C below ambient - representing past conditions), 2) ambient summer temperature (18 °C), 3) IPCC RCP2.6 warming scenario (1 °C above ambient), and 4) RCP8.5 warming (3 °C above ambient) for 30 days and two compositional levels (mono and co-cultured algae) in a fully-crossed design. The RCP8.5 warming scenario increased photosynthesis, respiration, and nutrients' uptake rates of mono- and co-cultured G. vermiculophylla while growth was reduced. An increase in photosynthesis and essential nutrients' uptake and, at the same time, a growth reduction might result from increasing stress and energy demand of G. vermiculophylla under warming. In contrast, the growth of mono-cultured F. vesiculosus significantly increased in the highest warming treatment (+3 °C). The cooling treatment (-2 °C) exerted a slight negative effect only on co-cultured F. vesiculosus photosynthesis, compared to the ambient treatment. Interestingly, at ambient and warming (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios) treatments, both F. vesiculosus and G. vermiculophylla appear to benefit from the presence of each other. Our results suggest that short exposure of F. vesiculosus to moderate or severe global warming scenarios may not directly affect or even slightly enhance its performance, while G. vermiculophylla net performance (growth) could be directly hampered by warming.

Symbiotic Synergy from Sponges to Humans: Microflora-Host Harmony Is Crucial for Ensuring Survival and Shielding against Invading Pathogens

Gut microbiota plays several roles in the host organism's metabolism and physiology. This phenomenon holds across different species from different kingdoms and classes. Different species across various classes engage in continuous crosstalk via various mechanisms with their gut microbiota, ensuring homeostasis of the host. In this Review, the diversity of the microflora, the development of the microflora in the host, its regulations by the host, and its functional implications on the host, especially in the context of dysbiosis, are discussed across different organisms from sponges to humans. Overall, our review aims to address the indispensable nature of the microbiome in the host's survival, fitness, and protection against invading pathogens.

Biodiversity differentially impacts disease dynamics across marine and terrestrial habitats

The relationship between biodiversity and infectious disease, where increased biodiversity leads to decreased disease risk, originated from research in terrestrial disease systems and remains relatively underexplored in marine systems. Understanding the impacts of biodiversity on disease in marine versus terrestrial systems is key to continued marine ecosystem functioning, sustainable aquaculture, and restoration projects. We compare the biodiversity-disease relationship across terrestrial and marine systems, considering biodiversity at six levels: intraspecific host diversity, host microbiomes, interspecific host diversity, biotic vectors and reservoirs, parasite consumers, and parasites. We highlight gaps in knowledge regarding how these six levels of biodiversity impact diseases in marine systems and propose two model systems, the Perkinsus-oyster and Labyrinthula-seagrass systems, to address these gaps.

Manipulation of the seagrass-associated microbiome reduces disease severity

Host-associated microbes influence host health and function and can be a first line of defence against infections. While research increasingly shows that terrestrial plant microbiomes contribute to bacterial, fungal, and oomycete disease resistance, no comparable experimental work has investigated marine plant microbiomes or more diverse disease agents. We test the hypothesis that the eelgrass (Zostera marina) leaf microbiome increases resistance to seagrass wasting disease. From field eelgrass with paired diseased and asymptomatic tissue, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that bacterial composition and richness varied markedly between diseased and asymptomatic tissue in one of the two years. This suggests that the influence of disease on eelgrass microbial communities may vary with environmental conditions. We next experimentally reduced the eelgrass microbiome with antibiotics and bleach, then inoculated plants with Labyrinthula zosterae, the causative agent of wasting disease. We detected significantly higher disease severity in eelgrass with a native microbiome than an experimentally reduced microbiome. Our results over multiple experiments do not support a protective role of the eelgrass microbiome against L. zosterae. Further studies of these marine host-microbe-pathogen relationships may continue to show new relationships between plant microbiomes and diseases.

Marine diseases and the Anthropocene: Understanding microbial pathogenesis in a rapidly changing world

Healthy marine ecosystems are paramount for Earth's biodiversity and are key to sustaining the global economy and human health. The effects of anthropogenic activity represent a pervasive threat to the productivity of marine ecosystems, with intensifying environmental stressors such as climate change and pollution driving the occurrence and severity of microbial diseases that can devastate marine ecosystems and jeopardise food security. Despite the potentially catastrophic outcomes of marine diseases, our understanding of host-pathogen interactions remains an understudied aspect of both microbiology and environmental research, especially when compared to the depth of information available for human and agricultural systems. Here, we identify three avenues of research in which we can advance our understanding of marine disease in the context of global change, and make positive steps towards safeguarding marine communities for future generations.

Changes in the gut bacterial community affect miRNA profiles in Riptortus pedestris under different rearing conditions

Insects possess complex and dynamic gut microbial system, which contributes to host nutrient absorption, reproduction, energy metabolism, and protection against stress. However, there are limited data on interactions of host-gut bacterial microbiota through miRNA (microRNA) regulation in a significant pest, Riptortus pedestris. Here, we performed the 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and small RNA sequencing from the R. pedestris gut under three environmental conditions and antibiotic treatment, suggesting that we obtained a large amount of reads by assembly, filtration and quality control. The 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing results showed that the abundance and diversity of gut bacterial microbiota were significantly changed between antibiotic treatment and other groups, and they are involved in metabolism and biosynthesis-related function based on functional prediction. Furthermore, we identified different numbers of differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) based on high-quality mappable reads, which were enriched in various immune-related pathways, including Toll-like receptor, RIG-I-like receptor, NOD-like receptor, JAK/STAT, PI3K/Akt, NF-κB, MAPK signaling pathways, and so forth, using GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. Later on, the identified miRNAs and their target genes in the R. pedestris gut were predicted and randomly selected to construct an interaction network. Finally, our study indicated that alterations in the gut bacterial microbiota are significantly positively or negatively associated with DEMs of the Toll/Imd signaling pathway with Pearson correlation analysis. Taken together, the results of our study lay the foundation for further deeply understanding the interactions between the gut microbiota and immune responses in R. pedestris through miRNA regulation, and provide the new basis for pest management in hemipteran pests.

Long-read sequencing reveals the shell microbiome of apparently healthy American lobsters Homarus americanus from Atlantic Canada

The shell microbial community of lobsters-a key factor in the development of epizootic shell disease (ESD)-is still insufficiently researched in Atlantic Canada and many knowledge gaps remain. This study aimed to establish a baseline description and analysis of the shell microbiome of apparently healthy lobsters from four locations in the region. More than 180 lobster shell swab samples were collected from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (PEI). PacBio long-read 16S rDNA sequencing and bioinformatic analyses in QIIME2 identified the shell-associated bacteria. The shell microbiome of healthy lobsters consisted mainly of the bacterial classes Gammaproteobacteria, Saprospiria, Verrucomicrobiae, Alphaproteobacteria, Flavobacteriia, Acidimicrobiia and Planctomycetia. The microbial composition differed regionally and seasonally, with some classes showing decreased or increased relative abundances in the PEI samples as well as in the winter and spring samples in Nova Scotia. The core shell microbiome included potentially pathogenic as well as beneficial bacterial taxa, of which some were present only in certain regions. Bacterial taxa that have previously been associated with ESD were present on healthy lobsters in Atlantic Canada, but their frequency differed by location, sampling time, and moult stage. This study indicated that geographical and seasonal factors influenced the shell microbiome of apparently healthy lobsters more than host factors such as sex, size, and moult stage. Our results provide valuable reference microbial data from lobsters in a disease-free state.

Integrated analysis of miRNA profiles and gut bacterial changes in Altica viridicyanea following antibiotic treatment

The gut bacteria involves in insect homeostasis by playing essential roles in host physiology, metabolism, innate immunity, and so forth. microRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression to affect immune or metabolic processes in insects. For several non-model insects, the available knowledge on the relationship between changes in the gut bacteria and miRNA profiles is limited. In this study, we investigated the gut bacterial diversity, composition, and function from Altica viridicyanea feeding on normal- and antibiotic-treated host plants using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing; antibiotics have been shown to affect the body weight and development time in A. viridicyanea, suggesting that the gut bacteria of the normal sample were more diverse and abundant than those of the antibiotic-fed group, and most of them were involved in various physical functions by enrichment analysis. Furthermore, we executed small RNA transcriptome sequencing using the two experimental groups to obtain numerous sRNAs, such as piRNAs, siRNAs, and known and novel miRNAs, by data mapping and quality control, and furthermore, a total of 224 miRNAs were identified as significantly differentially expressed miRNAs, of which some DEMs and their target genes participated in immune- and metabolism-related pathways based on GO and KEGG annotation. Besides, regarding the regulatory roles of miRNA and target genes, a interaction network of DEM-target gene pairs from eight immune- or metabolism-related signaling pathways were constructed. Finally, we discovered that DEMs from above pathways were significantly positively or negatively correlated with gut bacterial alterations following antibiotic treatment. Collectively, the observations of this study expand our understanding of how the disturbance of gut bacteria affects miRNA profiles in A. viridicyanea and provide new valuable resources from extreme ranges for future studies on the adaptive evolution in insects.

Life-stage specificity and cross-generational climate effects on the microbiome of a tropical sea urchin (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

Microbes play a critical role in the development and health of marine invertebrates, though microbial dynamics across life stages and host generations remain poorly understood in most reef species, especially in the context of climate change. Here, we use a 4-year multigenerational experiment to explore microbe-host interactions under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-forecast climate scenarios in the rock-boring tropical urchin Echinometra sp. A. Adult urchins (F0 ) were exposed for 18 months to increased temperature and pCO2 levels predicted for years 2050 and 2100 under RCP 8.5, a period which encompassed spawning. After rearing F1 offspring for a further 2 years, spawning was induced, and F2 larvae were raised under current day and 2100 conditions. Cross-generational climate effects were also explored in the microbiome of F1 offspring through a transplant experiment. Using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, we determined that each life stage and generation was associated with a distinct microbiome, with higher microbial diversity observed in juveniles compared to larval stages. Although life-stage specificity was conserved under climate conditions projected for 2050 and 2100, we observed changes in the urchin microbial community structure within life stages. Furthermore, we detected a climate-mediated parental effect when juveniles were transplanted among climate treatments, with the parental climate treatment influencing the offspring microbiome. Our findings reveal a potential for cross-generational impacts of climate change on the microbiome of a tropical invertebrate species.

The Reemergence of Phycopathology: When Algal Biology Meets Ecology and Biosecurity

Viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotic symbionts interact with algae in a variety of ways to cause disease complexes, often shaping marine and freshwater ecosystems. The advent of phyconomy (a.k.a. seaweed agronomy) represents a need for a greater understanding of algal disease interactions, where underestimated cryptic diversity and lack of phycopathological basis are prospective constraints for algal domestication. Here, we highlight the limited yet increasing knowledge of algal pathogen biodiversity and the ecological interaction with their algal hosts. Finally, we discuss how ecology and cultivation experience contribute to and reinforce aquaculture practice, with the potential to reshape biosecurity policies of seaweed cultivation worldwide.

A dynamic epibiont community associated with the bone-eating polychaete genus Osedax

Osedax, the deep-sea annelid found at sunken whalefalls, is known to host Oceanospirillales bacterial endosymbionts intracellularly in specialized roots, which help it feed exclusively on vertebrate bones. Past studies, however, have also made mention of external bacteria on their trunks. During a 14-yr study, we reveal a dynamic, yet persistent, shift of Campylobacterales integrated into the epidermis of Osedax, which change over time as the whale carcass degrades on the sea floor. The Campylobacterales associated with seven species of Osedax, which comprise 67% of the bacterial community on the trunk, appear initially dominated by the genus Arcobacter (at early time points <24 mo), the Sulfurospirillum at intermediate stages (~50 mo), and the Sulfurimonas at later stages (>140 mo) of whale carcass decomposition. Metagenome analysis of the epibiont metabolic capabilities suggests potential for a transition from heterotrophy to autotrophy and differences in their capacity to metabolize oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Compared to free-living relatives, the Osedax epibiont genomes were enriched in transposable elements, implicating genetic exchange on the host surface, and contained numerous secretions systems with eukaryotic-like protein (ELP) domains, suggesting a long evolutionary history with these enigmatic, yet widely distributed deep-sea worms. IMPORTANCE Symbiotic associations are widespread in nature and we can expect to find them in every type of ecological niche. In the last twenty years, the myriad of functions, interactions and species comprising microbe-host associations has fueled a surge of interest and appreciation for symbiosis. During this 14-year study, we reveal a dynamic population of bacterial epibionts, integrated into the epidermis of 7 species of a deep-sea worm group that feeds exclusively on the remains of marine mammals. The bacterial genomes provide clues of a long evolutionary history with these enigmatic worms. On the host surface, they exchange genes and appear to undergo ecological succession, as the whale carcass habitat degrades over time, similar to what is observed for some free-living communities. These, and other annelid worms are important keystone species for diverse deep-sea environments, yet the role of attached external bacteria in supporting host health has received relatively little attention.

Detection and Quantification of Nocardia crassostreae, an Emerging Pathogen, in Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Mediterranean Sea Using Droplet Digital PCR

Nocardia crassostreae is a novel pathogen responsible for infections in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis). N. crassostreae is also responsible for nocardiosis both in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. We investigated N. crassostreae DNA in mussels grown in marine sites of the Mediterranean Sea in the Campania Region. We examined 185 mussel pooled samples by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), each pool composed of 10 mussels and 149 individual mussels. ddPCR detected N. crassostreae DNA in 48 mussel pooled samples and in 23 individual mussel samples. qPCR detected N. crassostreae DNA in six pooled samples and six individual mussel samples. The two molecular assays for the detection of N. crassostreae DNA showed significant differences both in the pooled and in individual samples. Our study demonstrated that ddPCR outperformed real-time qPCR for N. crassostreae DNA detection, thus confirming that ddPCR technology can identify the pathogens in many infectious diseases with high sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, in individual mussels showing histological lesions due to N. crassostreae, the lowest copy number/microliter detected by ddPCR of this pathogen was 0.3, which suggests that this dose could be enough to cause infections of N. crassostreae in mussels.

Warming and nutrient enrichment can trigger seaweed loss by dysregulation of the microbiome structure and predicted function

Warming and nutrient enrichment are key pervasive drivers of ecological shifts in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, impairing the physiology and survival of a wide range of foundation species. But the underlying mechanisms often remain unclear, and experiments have overlooked the potential effects mediated by changes in the microbial communities. We experimentally tested in the field orthogonal stress combinations from simulated air warming and nutrient enrichment on the intertidal foundation seaweed Cystoseira compressa, and its associated bacterial communities. A total of 523 Amplicon Sequence Variance (ASVs) formed the bacterial community on C. compressa, with 222 ASVs assigned to 69 taxa at the genus level. Most bacteria taxa experienced changes in abundance as a result of additive (65 %) and antagonistic (30 %) interactions between the two stressors, with synergies (5 %) occurring less frequently. The analysis of the predicted bacterial functional profile identified 160 metabolic pathways, and showed that these were mostly affected by additive interactions (74 %) between air warming and nutrient enrichment, while antagonisms (20 %) and synergisms (6 %) were less frequent. Overall, the two stressors combined increased functions associated with seaweed disease or degradation of major cell-wall polymers and other algicidal processes, and decreased functions associated with Quorum Quenching and photosynthetic response. We conclude that warming and nutrient enrichment can dysregulate the microbiome of seaweeds, providing a plausible mechanism for their ongoing loss, and encourage more research into the effects of human impacts on crucial but yet largely unstudied host-microbiome relationships in different aquatic and terrestrial species.

Concordance of microbial and visual health indicators of white-band disease in nursery reared Caribbean coral Acropora cervicornis

Background

Coral diseases are one of the leading causes of declines in coral populations. In the Caribbean, white band disease (WBD) has led to a substantial loss of Acropora corals. Although the etiologies of this disease have not been well described, characterizing the coral microbiome during the transition from a healthy to diseased state is critical for understanding disease progression. Coral nurseries provide unique opportunities to further understand the microbial changes associated with diseased and healthy corals, because corals are monitored over time. We characterized the microbiomes before and during an outbreak of WBD in Acropora cervicornis reared in an ocean nursery in Little Cayman, CI. We asked (1) do healthy corals show the same microbiome over time (before and during a disease outbreak) and (2) are there disease signatures on both lesioned and apparently healthy tissues on diseased coral colonies?

Methods

Microbial mucus-tissue slurries were collected from healthy coral colonies in 2017 (before the disease) and 2019 (during the disease onset). Diseased colonies were sampled at two separate locations on an individual coral colony: at the interface of Disease and ∼10 cm away on Apparently Healthy coral tissue. We sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize bacterial and archaeal community composition in nursery-reared A. cervicornis. We assessed alpha diversity, beta diversity, and compositional differences to determine differences in microbial assemblages across health states (2019) and healthy corals between years (2017 and 2019).

Results

Microbial communities from healthy A. cervicornis from 2017 (before disease) and 2019 (after disease) did not differ significantly. Additionally, microbial communities from Apparently Healthy samples on an otherwise diseased coral colony were more similar to Healthy colonies than to the diseased portion on the same colony for both alpha diversity and community composition. Microbial communities from Diseased tissues had significantly higher alpha diversity than both Healthy and Apparently Healthy tissues but showed no significant difference in beta-diversity dispersion. Our results show that at the population scale, Healthy and Apparently Healthy coral tissues are distinct from microbial communities associated with Diseased tissues. Furthermore, our results suggest stability in Little Cayman nursery coral microbiomes over time. We show healthy Caymanian nursery corals had a stable microbiome over a two-year period, an important benchmark for evaluating coral health via their microbiome.

Stony coral tissue loss disease induces transcriptional signatures of in situ degradation of dysfunctional Symbiodiniaceae

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), one of the most pervasive and virulent coral diseases on record, affects over 22 species of reef-building coral and is decimating reefs throughout the Caribbean. To understand how different coral species and their algal symbionts (family Symbiodiniaceae) respond to this disease, we examine the gene expression profiles of colonies of five species of coral from a SCTLD transmission experiment. The included species vary in their purported susceptibilities to SCTLD, and we use this to inform gene expression analyses of both the coral animal and their Symbiodiniaceae. We identify orthologous coral genes exhibiting lineage-specific differences in expression that correlate to disease susceptibility, as well as genes that are differentially expressed in all coral species in response to SCTLD infection. We find that SCTLD infection induces increased expression of rab7, an established marker of in situ degradation of dysfunctional Symbiodiniaceae, in all coral species accompanied by genus-level shifts in Symbiodiniaceae photosystem and metabolism gene expression. Overall, our results indicate that SCTLD infection induces symbiophagy across coral species and that the severity of disease is influenced by Symbiodiniaceae identity.

Consistency and Variation in the Kelp Microbiota: Patterns of Bacterial Community Structure Across Spatial Scales

Kelp species are distributed along ~ 25% of the world's coastlines and the forests they form represent some of the world's most productive and diverse ecosystems. Like other marine habitat-formers, the associated microbial community is fundamental for host and, in turn, wider ecosystem functioning. Given there are thousands of bacteria-host associations, determining which relationships are important remains a major challenge. We characterised the associated bacteria of two habitat-forming kelp species, Laminaria hyperborea and Saccharina latissima, from eight sites across a range of spatial scales (10 s of metres to 100 s of km) in the northeast Atlantic. We found no difference in diversity or community structure between the two kelps, but there was evidence of regional structuring (across 100 s km) and considerable variation between individuals (10 s of metres). Within sites, individuals shared few amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and supported a very small proportion of diversity found across the wider study area. However, consistent characteristics between individuals were observed with individual host communities containing a small conserved "core" (8-11 ASVs comprising 25 and 32% of sample abundances for L. hyperborea and S. latissima, respectively). At a coarser taxonomic resolution, communities were dominated by four classes (Planctomycetes, Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidia) that made up ~ 84% of sample abundances. Remaining taxa (47 classes) made up very little contribution to overall abundance but the majority of taxonomic diversity. Overall, our study demonstrates the consistent features of kelp bacterial communities across large spatial scales and environmental gradients and provides an ecologically meaningful baseline to track environmental change.

A pathway to improve seaweed aquaculture through microbiota manipulation

Eukaryotic hosts are associated with microbial communities that are critical to their function. Microbiota manipulation using beneficial microorganisms, for example, in the form of animal probiotics or plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs), can enhance host performance and health. Recently, seaweed beneficial microorganisms (SBMs) have been identified that promote the growth and development and/or improve disease resistance of seaweeds. This knowledge coincides with global initiatives seeking to expand and intensify seaweed aquaculture. Here, we provide a pathway with the potential to improve commercial cultivation of seaweeds through microbiota manipulation, highlighting that seaweed restoration practices can also benefit from further understanding SBMs and their modes of action. The challenges and opportunities of different approaches to identify and apply SBMs to seaweed aquaculture are discussed.

The effect of warming on seagrass wasting disease depends on host genotypic identity and diversity

Temperature increases due to climate change have affected the distribution and severity of diseases in natural systems, causing outbreaks that can destroy host populations. Host identity, diversity, and the associated microbiome can affect host responses to both infection and temperature, but little is known about how they could function as important mediators of disease in altered thermal environments. We conducted an 8-week warming experiment to test the independent and interactive effects of warming, host genotypic identity, and host genotypic diversity on the prevalence and intensity of infections of seagrass (Zostera marina) by the wasting disease parasite (Labyrinthula zosterae). At elevated temperatures, we found that genotypically diverse host assemblages had reduced infection intensity, but not reduced prevalence, relative to less diverse assemblages. This dilution effect on parasite intensity was the result of both host composition effects as well as emergent properties of biodiversity. In contrast with the benefits of genotypic diversity under warming, diversity actually increased parasite intensity slightly in ambient temperatures. We found mixed support for the hypothesis that a growth-defense trade-off contributed to elevated disease intensity under warming. Changes in the abundance (but not composition) of a few taxa in the host microbiome were correlated with genotype-specific responses to wasting disease infections under warming, consistent with the emerging evidence linking changes in the host microbiome to the outcome of host-parasite interactions. This work emphasizes the context dependence of biodiversity-disease relationships and highlights the potential importance of interactions among biodiversity loss, climate change, and disease outbreaks in a key foundation species.

Exploring the Potential Molecular Mechanisms of Interactions between a Probiotic Consortium and Its Coral Host

Beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMCs) have been demonstrated to be effective probiotics to alleviate bleaching and mitigate coral mortality in vivo. The selection of putative BMCs is traditionally performed manually, using an array of biochemical and molecular tests for putative BMC traits. We present a comprehensive genetic survey of BMC traits using a genome-based framework for the identification of alternative mechanisms that can be used for future in silico selection of BMC strains. We identify exclusive BMC traits associated with specific strains and propose new BMC mechanisms, such as the synthesis of glycine betaine and ectoines. Our roadmap facilitates the selection of BMC strains while increasing the array of genetic targets that can be included in the selection of putative BMC strains to be tested as coral probiotics. IMPORTANCE Probiotics are currently the main hope as a potential medicine for corals, organisms that are considered the marine "canaries of the coal mine" and that are threatened with extinction. Our experiments have proved the concept that probiotics mitigate coral bleaching and can also prevent coral mortality. Here, we present a comprehensive genetic survey of probiotic traits using a genome-based framework. The main outcomes are a roadmap that facilitates the selection of coral probiotic strains while increasing the array of mechanisms that can be included in the selection of coral probiotics.

The Epidermal Microbiome Within an Aggregation of Leopard Sharks (Triakis semifasciata) Has Taxonomic Flexibility with Gene Functional Stability Across Three Time-points

The epidermis of Chondrichthyan fishes consists of dermal denticles with production of minimal but protein-rich mucus that collectively, influence the attachment and biofilm development of microbes, facilitating a unique epidermal microbiome. Here, we use metagenomics to provide the taxonomic and functional characterization of the epidermal microbiome of the Triakis semifasciata (leopard shark) at three time-points collected across 4 years to identify links between microbial groups and host metabolism. Our aims include (1) describing the variation of microbiome taxa over time and identifying recurrent microbiome members (present across all time-points); (2) investigating the relationship between the recurrent and flexible taxa (those which are not found consistently across time-points); (3) describing the functional compositions of the microbiome which may suggest links with the host metabolism; and (4) identifying whether metabolic processes are shared across microbial genera or are unique to specific taxa. Microbial members of the microbiome showed high similarity between all individuals (Bray-Curtis similarity index = 82.7, where 0 = no overlap, 100 = total overlap) with the relative abundance of those members varying across sampling time-points, suggesting flexibility of taxa in the microbiome. One hundred and eighty-eight genera were identified as recurrent, including Pseudomonas, Erythrobacter, Alcanivorax, Marinobacter, and Sphingopxis being consistently abundant across time-points, while Limnobacter and Xyella exhibited switching patterns with high relative abundance in 2013, Sphingobium and Sphingomona in 2015, and Altermonas, Leeuwenhoekiella, Gramella, and Maribacter in 2017. Of the 188 genera identified as recurrent, the top 19 relatively abundant genera formed three recurrent groups. The microbiome also displayed high functional similarity between individuals (Bray-Curtis similarity index = 97.6) with gene function composition remaining consistent across all time-points. These results show that while the presence of microbial genera exhibits consistency across time-points, their abundances do fluctuate. Microbial functions however remain stable across time-points; thus, we suggest the leopard shark microbiomes exhibit functional redundancy. We show coexistence of microbes hosted in elasmobranch microbiomes that encode genes involved in utilizing nitrogen, but not fixing nitrogen, degrading urea, and resistant to heavy metal.

Insights into the potential for mutualistic and harmful host-microbe interactions affecting brown alga freshwater acclimation

Microbes can modify their hosts' stress tolerance, thus potentially enhancing their ecological range. An example of such interactions is Ectocarpus subulatus, one of the few freshwater-tolerant brown algae. This tolerance is partially due to its (un)cultivated microbiome. We investigated this phenomenon by modifying the microbiome of laboratory-grown E. subulatus using mild antibiotic treatments, which affected its ability to grow in low salinity. Low salinity acclimation of these algal-bacterial associations was then compared. Salinity significantly impacted bacterial and viral gene expression, albeit in different ways across algal-bacterial communities. In contrast, gene expression of the host and metabolite profiles were affected almost exclusively in the freshwater-intolerant algal-bacterial communities. We found no evidence of bacterial protein production that would directly improve algal stress tolerance. However, vitamin K synthesis is one possible bacterial service missing specifically in freshwater-intolerant cultures in low salinity. In this condition, we also observed a relative increase in bacterial transcriptomic activity and the induction of microbial genes involved in the biosynthesis of the autoinducer AI-1, a quorum-sensing regulator. This could have resulted in dysbiosis by causing a shift in bacterial behaviour in the intolerant algal-bacterial community. Together, these results provide two promising hypotheses to be examined by future targeted experiments. Although they apply only to the specific study system, they offer an example of how bacteria may impact their host's stress response.

Preliminary study of shark microbiota at a unique mix-species shark aggregation site, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Sharks, as apex predators, play an essential ecological role in shaping the marine food web and maintaining healthy and balanced marine ecosystems. Sharks are sensitive to environmental changes and anthropogenic pressure and demonstrate a clear and rapid response. This designates them a "keystone" or "sentinel" group that may describe the structure and function of the ecosystem. As a meta-organism, sharks offer selective niches (organs) for microorganisms that can provide benefits for their hosts. However, changes in the microbiota (due to physiological or environmental changes) can turn the symbiosis into a dysbiosis and may affect the physiology, immunity and ecology of the host. Although the importance of sharks within the ecosystem is well known, relatively few studies have focused on the microbiome aspect, especially with long-term sampling. Our study was conducted at a site of coastal development in Israel where a mixed-species shark aggregation (November-May) is observed. The aggregation includes two shark species, the dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus) and sandbar (Carcharhinus plumbeus) which segregate by sex (females and males, respectively). In order to characterize the bacterial profile and examine the physiological and ecological aspects, microbiome samples were collected from different organs (gills, skin, and cloaca) from both shark species over 3 years (sampling seasons: 2019, 2020, and 2021). The bacterial composition was significantly different between the shark individuals and the surrounding seawater and between the shark species. Additionally, differences were apparent between all the organs and the seawater, and between the skin and gills. The most dominant groups for both shark species were Flavobacteriaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Rhodobacteraceae. However, specific microbial biomarkers were also identified for each shark. An unexpected difference in the microbiome profile and diversity between the 2019-2020 and 2021 sampling seasons, revealed an increase in the potential pathogen Streptococcus. The fluctuations in the relative abundance of Streptococcus between the months of the third sampling season were also reflected in the seawater. Our study provides initial information on shark microbiome in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. In addition, we demonstrated that these methods were also able to describe environmental episodes and the microbiome is a robust measure for long-term ecological research.

Building consensus around the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae diversity

Within microeukaryotes, genetic variation and functional variation sometimes accumulate more quickly than morphological differences. To understand the evolutionary history and ecology of such lineages, it is key to examine diversity at multiple levels of organization. In the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, which can form endosymbioses with cnidarians (e.g., corals, octocorals, sea anemones, jellyfish), other marine invertebrates (e.g., sponges, molluscs, flatworms), and protists (e.g., foraminifera), molecular data have been used extensively over the past three decades to describe phenotypes and to make evolutionary and ecological inferences. Despite advances in Symbiodiniaceae genomics, a lack of consensus among researchers with respect to interpreting genetic data has slowed progress in the field and acted as a barrier to reconciling observations. Here, we identify key challenges regarding the assessment and interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae genetic diversity across three levels: species, populations, and communities. We summarize areas of agreement and highlight techniques and approaches that are broadly accepted. In areas where debate remains, we identify unresolved issues and discuss technologies and approaches that can help to fill knowledge gaps related to genetic and phenotypic diversity. We also discuss ways to stimulate progress, in particular by fostering a more inclusive and collaborative research community. We hope that this perspective will inspire and accelerate coral reef science by serving as a resource to those designing experiments, publishing research, and applying for funding related to Symbiodiniaceae and their symbiotic partnerships.

Non-native hosts of an invasive seaweed holobiont have more stable microbial communities compared to native hosts in response to thermal stress

Seaweeds are colonized by a microbial community, which can be directly linked to their performance. This community is shaped by an interplay of stochastic and deterministic processes, including mechanisms which the holobiont host deploys to manipulate its associated microbiota. The Anna Karenina principle predicts that when a holobiont is exposed to suboptimal or stressful conditions, these host mechanisms may be compromised. This leads to a relative increase of stochastic processes that may potentially result in the succession of a microbial community harmful to the host. Based on this principle, we used the variability in microbial communities (i.e., beta diversity) as a proxy for stability within the invasive holobiont Gracilaria vermiculophylla during a simulated invasion in a common garden experiment. Independent of host range, host performance declined at elevated temperature (22°C) and disease incidence and beta diversity increased. Under thermally stressful conditions, beta diversity increased more in epibiota from native populations, suggesting that epibiota from non-native holobionts are thermally more stable. This pattern reflects an increase in deterministic processes acting on epibiota associated with non-native hosts, which in the setting of a common garden can be assumed to originate from the host itself. Therefore, these experimental data suggest that the invasion process may have selected for hosts better able to maintain stable microbiota during stress. Future studies are needed to identify the underlying host mechanisms.

Genomic diversity and biosynthetic capabilities of sponge-associated chlamydiae

Sponge microbiomes contribute to host health, nutrition, and defense through the production of secondary metabolites. Chlamydiae, a phylum of obligate intracellular bacteria ranging from animal pathogens to endosymbionts of microbial eukaryotes, are frequently found associated with sponges. However, sponge-associated chlamydial diversity has not yet been investigated at the genomic level and host interactions thus far remain unexplored. Here, we sequenced the microbiomes of three sponge species and found high, though variable, Chlamydiae relative abundances of up to 18.7% of bacteria. Using genome-resolved metagenomics 18 high-quality sponge-associated chlamydial genomes were reconstructed, covering four chlamydial families. Among these, Candidatus Sororchlamydiaceae shares a common ancestor with Chlamydiaceae animal pathogens, suggesting long-term co-evolution with animals. Based on gene content, sponge-associated chlamydiae resemble members from the same family more than sponge-associated chlamydiae of other families, and have greater metabolic versatility than known chlamydial animal pathogens. Sponge-associated chlamydiae are also enriched in genes for degrading diverse compounds found in sponges. Unexpectedly, we identified widespread genetic potential for secondary metabolite biosynthesis across Chlamydiae, which may represent an unexplored source of novel natural products. This finding suggests that Chlamydiae members may partake in defensive symbioses and that secondary metabolites play a wider role in mediating intracellular interactions. Furthermore, sponge-associated chlamydiae relatives were found in other marine invertebrates, pointing towards wider impacts of the Chlamydiae phylum on marine ecosystems.

Elasmobranch-associated microbiota: a scientometric literature review

Elasmobranchs provide greatly relevant ecosystem services for the balance of the environments in which they are inserted. In recent decades, sharp population declines have been reported for many species in different regions worldwide, making this taxonomic group currently one of the most threatened with extinction. This scenario is almost entirely due to excessive fishing pressure, but any contributing factor that may cause additional mortality to populations must be mapped and monitored. In a fast-changing world, emerging marine pollution associated with climate change display the potential to increase the spread of infectious agents. These can, in turn, lead to mortality events, both directly and indirectly, by reducing immune responses and the physical and nutritional condition of affected individuals. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze data concerning elasmobranch-associated microbiota, identifying study trends and knowledge gaps in order to direct future studies on this topic of growing relevance for the health of wild populations, as well as individuals maintained in captivity, considering the zoonotic potential of these microorganisms.

Co-occurrences enhance our understanding of aquatic fungal metacommunity assembly and reveal potential host-parasite interactions

Our knowledge of aquatic fungal communities, their assembly, distributions and ecological roles in marine ecosystems is scarce. Hence, we aimed to investigate fungal metacommunities of coastal habitats in a subarctic zone (northern Baltic Sea, Sweden). Using a novel joint species distribution model and network approach, we quantified the importance of biotic associations contributing to the assembly of mycoplankton, further, detected potential biotic interactions between fungi-algae pairs, respectively. Our long-read metabarcoding approach identified 493 fungal taxa, of which a dominant fraction (44.4%) was assigned as early-diverging fungi (i.e. Cryptomycota and Chytridiomycota). Alpha diversity of mycoplankton declined and community compositions changed along inlet-bay-offshore transects. The distributions of most fungi were rather influenced by environmental factors than by spatial drivers, and the influence of biotic associations was pronounced when environmental filtering was weak. We found great number of co-occurrences (120) among the dominant fungal groups, and the 25 associations between fungal and algal OTUs suggested potential host-parasite and/or saprotroph links, supporting a Cryptomycota-based mycoloop pathway. We emphasize that the contribution of biotic associations to mycoplankton assembly are important to consider in future studies as it helps to improve predictions of species distributions in aquatic ecosystems.

Infection by a eukaryotic gut parasite in wild Daphnia sp. associates with a distinct bacterial community

Host-associated bacterial communities play an important role in host fitness and resistance to diseases. Yet, few studies have investigated tripartite interaction between a host, parasite and host-associated bacterial communities in natural settings. Here, we use 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to compare gut- and body- bacterial communities of wild water fleas belonging to the Daphnia longispina complex, between uninfected hosts and those infected with the common and virulent eukaryotic gut parasite Caullerya mesnili (Family: Ichthyosporea). We report community-level changes in host-associated bacteria with the presence of the parasite infection; namely decreased alpha diversity and increased beta diversity at the site of infection, i.e. host gut (but not host body). We also report decreased abundance of bacterial taxa proposed elsewhere to be beneficial for the host, and an appearance of taxa specifically associated with infected hosts. Our study highlights the host-microbiota-infection link in a natural system and raises questions about the role of host-associated microbiota in natural disease epidemics as well as the functional roles of bacteria specifically associated with infected hosts.

Black eye syndrome and a systemic rickettsia-like organism in Alaskan Chionoecetes spp. crabs, including normal eyestalk microanatomy

A black eye syndrome (BES) was discovered in both captive and wild populations of Alaskan snow crabs Chionoecetes opilio and Tanner crabs C. bairdi. Field prevalences ranged from 0.37% (n = 594/161295) to 19.6% (n = 62/316) in snow crabs from the eastern Bering Sea and from 0.09% (n = 15/16638) to 0.7% (n = 133/18473) in Tanner crabs from the same trawl samples, with a slightly greater percentage (1.4%, n = 57/3945) in Tanner crabs from the Aleutian and Kodiak islands fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska. BES is not associated with crab mortality and has 2 distinct manifestations: abnormal black foci of internal eye pigment with no discernible histological lesions, which, in many cases, is followed by corneal shell disease with ulceration and distal eyestalk erosion. It is assumed for this study that these are early and late stages of BES that are somehow related. Our results suggest that early stages of abnormal pigmentation are noninfectious, possibly related to changing ocean conditions affecting crab endocrinology and neuropeptide control of secondary eye pigment. Potential light-induced photoreceptor damage of harvested crabs with dark-adapted eyes is another anthropogenic factor possibly contributing to the early changes in eye pigmentation. Normal eyestalk microanatomy specific for Chionoecetes spp. is provided as necessary baseline information for future studies. Early in the study, an unreported rickettsia-like organism (RLO) was discovered infecting dissected black eyestalks submitted for examination from 5 of 6 dead snow crabs, suggesting association with BES. Subsequent samples indicated the RLO was systemic, infected both black and normal-appearing eyestalks, and was unrelated to BES. However, the multiorgan infection and histopathology indicated the RLO could be a primary pathogen of snow crabs.

Core Community Persistence Despite Dynamic Spatiotemporal Responses in the Associated Bacterial Communities of Farmed Pacific Oysters

A breakdown in host-bacteria relationships has been associated with the progression of a number of marine diseases and subsequent mortality events. For the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, summer mortality syndrome (SMS) is one of the biggest constraints to the growth of the sector and is set to expand into temperate systems as ocean temperatures rise. Currently, a lack of understanding of natural spatiotemporal dynamics of the host-bacteria relationship limits our ability to develop microbially based monitoring approaches. Here, we characterised the associated bacterial community of C. gigas, at two Irish oyster farms, unaffected by SMS, over the course of a year. We found C. gigas harboured spatiotemporally variable bacterial communities that were distinct from bacterioplankton in surrounding seawater. Whilst the majority of bacteria-oyster associations were transient and highly variable, we observed clear patterns of stability in the form of a small core consisting of six persistent amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). This core made up a disproportionately large contribution to sample abundance (34 ± 0.14%), despite representing only 0.034% of species richness across the study, and has been associated with healthy oysters in other systems. Overall, our study demonstrates the consistent features of oyster bacterial communities across spatial and temporal scales and provides an ecologically meaningful baseline to track environmental change.

Predictable Changes in Eelgrass Microbiomes with Increasing Wasting Disease Prevalence across 23° Latitude in the Northeastern Pacific

Predicting outcomes of marine disease outbreaks presents a challenge in the face of both global and local stressors. Host-associated microbiomes may play important roles in disease dynamics but remain understudied in marine ecosystems. Host–pathogen–microbiome interactions can vary across host ranges, gradients of disease, and temperature; studying these relationships may aid our ability to forecast disease dynamics. Eelgrass, Zostera marina, is impacted by outbreaks of wasting disease caused by the opportunistic pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae. We investigated how Z. marina phyllosphere microbial communities vary with rising wasting disease lesion prevalence and severity relative to plant and meadow characteristics like shoot density, longest leaf length, and temperature across 23° latitude in the Northeastern Pacific. We detected effects of geography (11%) and smaller, but distinct, effects of temperature (30-day max sea surface temperature, 4%) and disease (lesion prevalence, 3%) on microbiome composition. Declines in alpha diversity on asymptomatic tissue occurred with rising wasting disease prevalence within meadows. However, no change in microbiome variability (dispersion) was detected between asymptomatic and symptomatic tissues. Further, we identified members of Cellvibrionaceae, Colwelliaceae, and Granulosicoccaceae on asymptomatic tissue that are predictive of wasting disease prevalence across the geographic range (3,100 kilometers). Functional roles of Colwelliaceae and Granulosicoccaceae are not known. Cellvibrionaceae, degraders of plant cellulose, were also enriched in lesions and adjacent green tissue relative to nonlesioned leaves. Cellvibrionaceae may play important roles in disease progression by degrading host tissues or overwhelming plant immune responses. Thus, inclusion of microbiomes in wasting disease studies may improve our ability to understand variable rates of infection, disease progression, and plant survival.

IMPORTANCE The roles of marine microbiomes in disease remain poorly understood due, in part, to the challenging nature of sampling at appropriate spatiotemporal scales and across natural gradients of disease throughout host ranges. This is especially true for marine vascular plants like eelgrass (Zostera marina) that are vital for ecosystem function and biodiversity but are susceptible to rapid decline and die-off from pathogens like eukaryotic slime-mold Labyrinthula zosterae (wasting disease). We link bacterial members of phyllosphere tissues to the prevalence of wasting disease across the broadest geographic range to date for a marine plant microbiome-disease study (3,100 km). We identify Cellvibrionaceae, plant cell wall degraders, enriched (up to 61% relative abundance) within lesion tissue, which suggests this group may be playing important roles in disease progression. These findings suggest inclusion of microbiomes in marine disease studies will improve our ability to predict ecological outcomes of infection across variable landscapes spanning thousands of kilometers.

Species- and site-specific circulating bacterial DNA in Subantarctic sentinel mussels Aulacomya atra and Mytilus platensis

Impacts of climate changes are particularly severe in polar regions where warmer temperatures and reductions in sea-ice covers threaten the ecological integrity of marine coastal ecosystems. Because of their wide distribution and their ecological importance, mussels are currently used as sentinel organisms in monitoring programs of coastal ecosystems around the world. In the present study, we exploited the concept of liquid biopsy combined to a logistically friendly sampling method to study the hemolymphatic bacterial microbiome in two mussel species (Aulacomya atra and Mytilus platensis) in Kerguelen Islands, a remote Subantarctic volcanic archipelago. We found that the circulating microbiome signatures of both species differ significantly even though their share the same mussel beds. We also found that the microbiome differs significantly between sampling sites, often correlating with the particularity of the ecosystem. Predictive models also revealed that both species have distinct functional microbiota, and that the circulating microbiome of Aulacomya atra was more sensitive to changes induced by acute thermal stress when compared to Mytilus platensis. Taken together, our study suggests that defining circulating microbiome is a useful tool to assess the health status of marine ecosystems and to better understand the interactions between the sentinel species and their habitat.

Widespread phages of endosymbionts: Phage WO genomics and the proposed taxonomic classification of Symbioviridae

Wolbachia are the most common obligate, intracellular bacteria in animals. They exist worldwide in arthropod and nematode hosts in which they commonly act as reproductive parasites or mutualists, respectively. Bacteriophage WO, the largest of Wolbachia’s mobile elements, includes reproductive parasitism genes, serves as a hotspot for genetic divergence and genomic rearrangement of the bacterial chromosome, and uniquely encodes a Eukaryotic Association Module with eukaryotic-like genes and an ensemble of putative host interaction genes. Despite WO’s relevance to genome evolution, selfish genetics, and symbiotic applications, relatively little is known about its origin, host range, diversification, and taxonomic classification. Here we analyze the most comprehensive set of 150 Wolbachia and phage WO assemblies to provide a framework for discretely organizing and naming integrated phage WO genomes. We demonstrate that WO is principally in arthropod Wolbachia with relatives in diverse endosymbionts and metagenomes, organized into four variants related by gene synteny, often oriented opposite the putative origin of replication in the Wolbachia chromosome, and the large serine recombinase is an ideal typing tool to distinguish the four variants. We identify a novel, putative lytic cassette and WO’s association with a conserved eleven gene island, termed Undecim Cluster, that is enriched with virulence-like genes. Finally, we evaluate WO-like Islands in the Wolbachia genome and discuss a new model in which Octomom, a notable WO-like Island, arose from a split with WO. Together, these findings establish the first comprehensive Linnaean taxonomic classification of endosymbiont phages, including non-Wolbachia phages from aquatic environments, that includes a new family and two new genera to capture the collective relatedness of these viruses.

Alterations in Epiphytic Bacterial Communities during the Occurrence of Green Rot Disease in Saccharina japonica Seedlings

Bacteria are one of the causes of green rot disease (GRD) in Saccharina japonica mariculture, which may lead to complete failure of seedling production. However, the association between bacterial community and host disease severity remains largely unknown. Therefore, in this study, the bacterial communities associated with GRD-infected seedlings with naturally varying disease severity from two seedling hatcheries in Northern China were analyzed to investigate the interactions between bacterial communities and GRD. The results indicated incorrect nutrient supply in both sites. Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were prevalent in all samples. Significant structural alterations were detected for epibacterial communities, which were further evidenced by differently abundant bacterial taxa associated with seedlings with varying disease severity. The predicted pathways of bacterial adhesion and antimicrobial compounds biosynthesis were significantly enriched in less severely diseased seedlings, whereas glutathione metabolism and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis were significantly increased in more severely diseased seedlings. The predicted categories of a two-component system, flagellar assembly, bacterial chemotaxis, and biofilm formation were significantly enriched in the bacterioplankton in more severely infected seawater. The differential bacterial community compositions and predicted functions provide new clues to elucidate the mechanism underlying the interaction between GRD occurrence and bacterial communities.

Dynamics of Planktonic Microbial Community Associated with Saccharina japonica Seedling

Macroalgae interact with planktonic microbes in seawater. It remains unclear how planktonic microbes interact with the environment and each other during the cultivation processes of commercially important algal species. Such an interaction is important for developing environment-friendly mariculture methods. In this study, the dynamics of the planktonic microbial community associated with Saccharina japonica were profiled during the seedling production stage, with its environmental correlation and co-occurrence pattern determined simultaneously. Microbial richness increased and positively correlated with light intensity and contents of NO3− and PO43−. A clear temporal succession of the community was observed, which coincided with changes in light intensity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and NO3− content. α-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, γ-Proteobacteria, and the genera prevalent in these taxa dominated the planktonic microbial community, and their relative abundance temporally changed. A profile of keystone taxa that is different from prevalent genera was identified based on betweenness centrality scores. A modularized co-occurrence pattern was determined, in addition to intensified species-to-species interactions at the core of the co-occurrence network. These findings expanded our cognization of the planktonic microbial community in response to S. japonica cultivation.

The Active Microbiota of the Eggs and the Nauplii of the Pacific Blue Shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris Partially Shaped by a Potential Vertical Transmission

The many ecological niches present in an organism harbor distinct microorganisms called microbiota. Different factors can influence the establishment of these commensal microbial communities. In a previous article, we have concluded that some bacterial lineages associated with the early larval stages of the Pacific blue shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris could be acquired from the breeders via a potential vertical transmission. The present study was conducted in order to investigate this hypothesis. Using HiSeq sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rRNA gene, we analyzed the active microbiota associated with the eggs and the nauplii of L. stylirsotris as well as with the reproductive organs of their breeders. Microbial communities associated with the rearing water were also considered to discriminate environmental microbial lineages. Using these analyses, we highlight a set of core bacterial families present in all samples and composed of members of Colwelliaceae, Alteromonadaceae, Pseudoalteromonadaceae, Saccharospirillaceae, Oceanospirillaceae, Vibrionaceae, Burkholderiaceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Flavobacteraceae, and Corynebacteriaceae; showing the importance of the environment in the establishment of the larval microbiota. We also present specific bacteria affiliated to the Arcobacteraceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Comamonadaceae, and Colwelliaceae families, which were only found in the breeders and their offspring strengthening the hypothesis of a potential vertical transmission shaping the active microbiota of the eggs and the nauplii of L. stylirostris.

Metagenomic Analysis of the Gastrointestinal Microbiota of Gadus morhua callarias L. Originating from a Chemical Munition Dump Site

Several hundred thousand tonnes of munitions containing chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are lying on the seafloor worldwide. CWAs have started leaking from corroded munitions, and their presence in the environment and in organisms inhabiting dump sites has been detected. The presence of CWAs in the water negatively affects fish, macrobenthos and free-living bacteria. It can be expected that the presence of CWAs would also affect the gut-associated bacteria in fish, which are vital for their condition. The main aim of this study was to test if the microbiota of cod collected in the Baltic Bornholm Deep (highly polluted with CWAs) is dysregulated. To investigate this, we conducted metagenomic studies based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We found that the microbiota of cod inhabiting the dump site was significantly less taxonomically diverse compared to those from a non-polluted reference site. Moreover, taxa associated with fish diseases (e.g., Vibrionaceae, Aeromonadaceae) were more prevalent, and probiotic taxa (e.g., Actinobacteriota, Rhodobacteraceae) were less frequent in the guts of individuals from the dump site, than those from the reference site. The differences in vulnerability of various bacterial taxa inhabiting cod gastrointestinal tracts to CWAs were hypothesised to be responsible for the observed microbiota dysregulation.

Pathogen exposure leads to a transcriptional downregulation of core cellular functions that may dampen the immune response in a macroalga

Diseases in marine eukaryotic organisms caused by opportunistic pathogens represent a serious threat to our oceans with potential downstream consequences for ecosystem functioning. Disease outbreaks affecting macroalgae are of particular concern due to their critical role as habitat‐forming organisms. However, there is limited understanding of the molecular strategies used by macroalgae to respond to opportunistic pathogens. In this study, we used mRNA‐sequencing analysis to investigate the early antipathogen response of the model macroalga Delisea pulchra (Rhodophyta) under the environmental conditions that are known to promote the onset of disease. Using de novo assembly methods, 27,586 unique transcripts belonging to D. pulchra were identified that were mostly affiliated with stress response and signal transduction processes. Differential gene expression analysis between a treatment with the known opportunistic pathogen, Aquimarina sp. AD1 (Bacteroidota), and a closely related benign strain (Aquimarina sp. AD10) revealed a downregulation of genes coding for predicted protein metabolism, stress response, energy generation and photosynthesis functions. The rapid repression of genes coding for core cellular processes is likely to interfere with the macroalgal antipathogen response, later leading to infection, tissue damage and bleaching symptoms. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the genetic features of D. pulchra, highlighting potential antipathogen response mechanisms of macroalgae and contributing to an improved understanding of host–pathogen interactions in a changing environment.

Bacterial controlled mitigation of dysbiosis in a seaweed disease

Disease in the marine environment is predicted to increase with anthropogenic stressors and already affects major habitat-formers, such as corals and seaweeds. Solutions to address this issue are urgently needed. The seaweed Delisea pulchra is prone to a bleaching disease, which is caused by opportunistic pathogens and involves bacterial dysbiosis. Bacteria that can inhibit these pathogens and/or counteract dysbiosis are therefore hypothesised to reduce disease. This study aimed to identify such disease-protective bacteria and investigate their protective action. One strain, Phaeobacter sp. BS52, isolated from healthy D. pulchra, was antagonistic towards bleaching pathogens and significantly increased the proportion of healthy individuals when applied before the pathogen challenge (pathogen-only vs. BS52 + pathogen: 41-80%), and to a level similar to the control. However, no significant negative correlations between the relative abundances of pathogens and BS52 on D. pulchra were detected. Instead, inoculation of BS52 mitigated pathogen-induced changes in the epibacterial community. These observations suggest that the protective activity of BS52 was due to its ability to prevent dysbiosis, rather than direct pathogen inhibition. This study demonstrates the feasibility of manipulating bacterial communities in seaweeds to reduce disease and that mitigation of dysbiosis can have positive health outcomes.

Microbiome diversity and host immune functions influence survivorship of sponge holobionts under future ocean conditions

The sponge-associated microbial community contributes to the overall health and adaptive capacity of the sponge holobiont. This community is regulated by the environment and the immune system of the host. However, little is known about the effect of environmental stress on the regulation of host immune functions and how this may, in turn, affect sponge-microbe interactions. In this study, we compared the bacterial diversity and immune repertoire of the demosponge, Neopetrosia compacta, and the calcareous sponge, Leucetta chagosensis, under varying levels of acidification and warming stress based on climate scenarios predicted for 2100. Neopetrosia compacta harbors a diverse microbial community and possesses a rich repertoire of scavenger receptors while L. chagosensis has a less diverse microbiome and an expanded range of pattern recognition receptors and immune response-related genes. Upon exposure to RCP 8.5 conditions, the microbiome composition and host transcriptome of N. compacta remained stable, which correlated with high survival (75%). In contrast, tissue necrosis and low survival (25%) of L. chagosensis was accompanied by microbial community shifts and downregulation of host immune-related pathways. Meta-analysis of microbiome diversity and immunological repertoire across poriferan classes further highlights the importance of host-microbe interactions in predicting the fate of sponges under future ocean conditions.

Profiling Branchial Bacteria of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) Following Exposure to Antimicrobial Agents

Microbial gill diseases caused by either opportunistic or specific pathogens are an emerging area of concern for aquaculture producers in part due to their sometimes complex and/or cryptic nature. Many antimicrobial treatments used in aquacultural settings are broad spectrum in nature. The effect of such therapeutics upon reduction and recolonization of commensal or pathogenic microbiota post-treatment has received little attention to date. Commensal bacteria are an integral component of the barrier function of mucosal surfaces in animals. This study evaluated the effect of several commercially relevant antimicrobial treatments upon the diversity and composition of branchial bacteria of Atlantic salmon. Here we exposed Atlantic salmon smolt to a number of commercially relevant antimicrobial treatments including chemotherapeutants (chloramine-t and hydrogen peroxide) and antibiotics (oxytetracycline and florfenicol) in vivo. Subsequently we examined the change in bacterial load, 16S rRNA gene expression, and taxonomic diversity post-treatment upon the gills. Results revealed a decrease in cultivable bacterial colonies after antimicrobial treatment, and a downstream decrease in bacterial richness and abundance post-treatment, with colonization of several prominent pathogenic taxa including Vibrio and Tenacibaculum. Temporal tracing over a 14-day period demonstrated that the bacteriome of gill mucus is sensitive to change, and altered by antimicrobial treatment and handling. This study identified candidate antimicrobial treatments which could be implemented in future studies to illustrate the effect of dysbiosis on microbial gill diseases.

Detrimental conditions affecting Xestospongia muta across shallow and mesophotic coral reefs off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico

Sponges are fundamental components of coral reef communities and, unfortunately, like other major benthic members, they too have been impacted by epizootic and panzootic events. We report on the prevalence of disease-like conditions affecting populations of the giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta across shallow and mesophotic coral reefs off La Parguera Natural Reserve (LPNR) and Mona Island Marine Reserve (MIMR) in Puerto Rico. Four different conditions affecting X. muta were observed during our surveys, of which 3 have been previously reported: cyclic spotted bleaching (CSB; apparently non-lethal), Xestospongia-tissue wasting disease (X-TWD; apparently lethal), and sponge orange band disease (SOB; sparsely associated with X-TWD infected individuals). Additionally, we describe a fourth condition, Xestospongia-tissue hardening condition (X-THC), a previously unreported disease recently observed along the insular shelf margin off LPNR and MIMR. Within LPNR, a total of 764 specimens of X. muta were inspected and measured. Of these, 590 sponges (72.2%) had CSB, 25 (3.27%) had signs of X-TWD, 7 (0.92%) had SOB, and the remaining 142 (18.6%) were apparently healthy. Three colonies inhabiting upper mesophotic depths on the LPNR insular shelf showed signs of CSB and X-TWD. At MIMR, video-transect surveys revealed a total of 514 colonies, of which 40 (7.78%) had signs of CSB and/or XTWD, 14 (2.72%) were affected by X-THC, while the remaining 460 (89.5%) showed no external signs of disease and appeared healthy. The presence of 4 concomitant disease-like conditions in barrel sponges of Puerto Rico is alarming, and indicative of the deteriorating status of Caribbean coral reefs.