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Froehlich CYM, Klanten OS, Hing ML, Dowton M, Wong MYL. Delayed recovery and host specialization may spell disaster for coral-fish mutualism. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10209. [PMID: 37361899 PMCID: PMC10285627 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutualisms are prevalent in many ecosystems, yet little is known about how symbioses are affected by ecological pressures. Here, we show delayed recovery for 13 coral-dwelling goby fishes (genus Gobiodon) compared with their host Acropora corals following four consecutive cyclones and heatwaves. While corals became twice as abundant in 3 years postdisturbances, gobies were only half as abundant relative to predisturbances and half of the goby species disappeared. Although gobies primarily occupied one coral species in greater abundance predisturbances, surviving goby species shifted hosts to newly abundant coral species when their previously occupied hosts became rare postdisturbances. As host specialization is key for goby fitness, shifting hosts may have negative fitness consequences for gobies and corals alike and affect their survival in response to environmental changes. Our study is an early sign that mutualistic partners may not recover similarly from multiple disturbances, and that goby host plasticity, while potentially detrimental, may be the only possibility for early recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - O. Selma Klanten
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of Technology SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Martin L. Hing
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and HealthUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Mark Dowton
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and HealthUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Marian Y. L. Wong
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and HealthUniversity of WollongongWollongongNew South WalesAustralia
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Azuma Y, Tsuru S, Habuchi M, Takami R, Takano S, Yamamoto K, Hosoda K. Synthetic symbiosis between a cyanobacterium and a ciliate toward novel chloroplast-like endosymbiosis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6104. [PMID: 37055487 PMCID: PMC10102011 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33321-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Chloroplasts are thought to have co-evolved through endosymbiosis, after a cyanobacterial-like prokaryote was engulfed by a eukaryotic cell; however, it is impossible to observe the process toward chloroplasts. In this study, we constructed an experimental symbiosis model to observe the initial stage in the process from independent organisms to a chloroplast-like organelle. Our system of synthetic symbiosis is capable of long-term coculture of two model organisms: a cyanobacterium (Synechocystis sp. PCC6803) as a symbiont and a ciliate (Tetrahymena thermophila) as a host with endocytic ability. The experimental system was clearly defined, because we used a synthetic medium and the cultures were shaken to avoid spatial complexity. We determined the experimental conditions for sustainable coculture, by analyzing population dynamics using a mathematical model. We experimentally demonstrated that the coculture was sustainable for at least 100 generations, through serial transfers. Moreover, we found that cells isolated after the serial transfer improved the probability of coexistence of both species without extinction in re-coculture. The constructed system will be useful for understanding the initial stage of primary endosymbiosis from cyanobacteria to chloroplasts, i.e., the origin of algae and plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Azuma
- Institute for Transdisciplinary Graduate Degree Programs, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
- Division of Hygienic Chemistry, Osaka Institute of Public Health, 1-3-3 Nakamichi, Higashinari-ku, Osaka, 537-0025, Japan.
| | - Saburo Tsuru
- Universal Biology Institute, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Masumi Habuchi
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Risa Takami
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Sotaro Takano
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Kayo Yamamoto
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Kazufumi Hosoda
- Institute for Transdisciplinary Graduate Degree Programs, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-2-3 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan.
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Osaka, Japan.
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Abstract
From protocellular to societal, networks of living systems are complex and multiscale. Discerning the factors that facilitate assembly of these intricate interdependencies using pairwise interactions can be nearly impossible. To facilitate a greater understanding, we developed a mathematical and computational model based on a synthetic four-strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae interdependent system. Specifically, we aimed to provide a greater understanding of how ecological factors influence community dynamics. By leveraging transiently structured ecologies, we were able to drive community cohesion. We show how ecological interventions could reverse or slow the extinction rate of a cohesive community. An interconnected system first needs to persist long enough to be a subject of natural selection. Our emulation of Darwin's "warm little ponds" with an ecology governed by transient compartmentalization provided the necessary persistence. Our results reveal utility across scales of organization, stressing the importance of cyclic processes in major evolutionary transitions, engineering of synthetic microbial consortia, and conservation biology. IMPORTANCE We are facing unprecedented disruption and collapse of ecosystems across the globe. To have any hope of mitigating this phenomenon, a much greater understanding of ecosystem dynamics is required. However, ecosystems are typically composed of highly dynamic networks of individual species. These interactions are further modulated by abiotic and biotic factors that vary temporally and spatially. Thus, ecological dynamics are obfuscated by this complexity. Here, we developed a theoretical model, informed by a synthetic experimental system, of Darwin's "warm little ponds." This cycling four-species system seeks to elucidate the ecological factors that drive or inhibit interaction. We show that these factors could provide an essential tool for avoiding the accelerating ecological collapse. Our study also provides a starting point to develop a more encompassing model to inform conservation efforts.
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Froehlich CYM, Klanten
OS, Hing ML, Dowton M, Wong MYL. Uneven declines between corals and cryptobenthic fish symbionts from multiple disturbances. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16420. [PMID: 34385506 PMCID: PMC8361158 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-95778-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
With the onset and increasing frequency of multiple disturbances, the recovery potential of critical ecosystem-building species and their mutual symbionts is threatened. Similar effects to both hosts and their symbionts following disturbances have been assumed. However, we report unequal declines between hosts and symbionts throughout multiple climate-driven disturbances in reef-building Acropora corals and cryptobenthic coral-dwelling Gobiodon gobies. Communities were surveyed before and after consecutive cyclones (2014, 2015) and heatwaves (2016, 2017). After cyclones, coral diameter and goby group size (i.e., the number of gobies within each coral) decreased similarly by 28-30%. After heatwave-induced bleaching, coral diameter decreased substantially (47%) and gobies mostly inhabited corals singly. Despite several coral species persisting after bleaching, all goby species declined, leaving 78% of corals uninhabited. These findings suggest that gobies, which are important mutual symbionts for corals, are unable to cope with consecutive disturbances. This disproportionate decline could lead to ecosystem-level disruptions through loss of key symbiont services to corals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catheline Y. M. Froehlich
- grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XFaculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Australia
| | - O. Selma Klanten
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007 Australia
| | - Martin L. Hing
- grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XFaculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Australia
| | - Mark Dowton
- grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XFaculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Australia
| | - Marian Y. L. Wong
- grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XFaculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2500 Australia
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Synthetic Symbiosis under Environmental Disturbances. mSystems 2020; 5:5/3/e00187-20. [PMID: 32546669 PMCID: PMC7300358 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00187-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The power of synthetic biology is immense. Will it, however, be able to withstand the environmental pressures once released in the wild. As new technologies aim to do precisely the same, we use a much simpler model to test mathematically the effect of a changing environment on a synthetic biological system. We assume that the system is successful if it maintains proportions close to what we observe in the laboratory. Extreme deviations from the expected equilibrium are possible as the environment changes. Our study provides the conditions and the designer specifications which may need to be incorporated in the synthetic systems if we want such “ecoblocs” to survive in the wild. By virtue of complex ecologies, the behavior of mutualisms is challenging to study and nearly impossible to predict. However, laboratory engineered mutualistic systems facilitate a better understanding of their bare essentials. On the basis of an abstract theoretical model and a modifiable experimental yeast system, we explore the environmental limits of self-organized cooperation based on the production and use of specific metabolites. We develop and test the assumptions and stability of the theoretical model by leveraging the simplicity of an artificial yeast system as a simple model of mutualism. We examine how one-off, recurring, and permanent changes to an ecological niche affect a cooperative interaction and change the population composition of an engineered mutualistic system. Moreover, we explore how the cellular burden of cooperating influences the stability of mutualism and how environmental changes shape this stability. Our results highlight the fragility of mutualisms and suggest interventions, including those that rely on the use of synthetic biology. IMPORTANCE The power of synthetic biology is immense. Will it, however, be able to withstand the environmental pressures once released in the wild. As new technologies aim to do precisely the same, we use a much simpler model to test mathematically the effect of a changing environment on a synthetic biological system. We assume that the system is successful if it maintains proportions close to what we observe in the laboratory. Extreme deviations from the expected equilibrium are possible as the environment changes. Our study provides the conditions and the designer specifications which may need to be incorporated in the synthetic systems if we want such “ecoblocs” to survive in the wild.
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Oosthuizen JR, Naidoo RK, Rossouw D, Bauer FF. Evolution of mutualistic behaviour between Chlorella sorokiniana and Saccharomyces cerevisiae within a synthetic environment. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 47:357-372. [PMID: 32385605 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-020-02280-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Yeast and microalgae are microorganisms with widely diverging physiological and biotechnological properties. Accordingly, their fields of applications diverge: yeasts are primarily applied in processes related to fermentation, while microalgae are used for the production of high-value metabolites and green technologies such as carbon capture. Heterotrophic-autotrophic systems and synthetic ecology approaches have been proposed as tools to achieve stable combinations of such evolutionarily unrelated species. We describe an entirely novel synthetic ecology-based approach to evolve co-operative behaviour between winery wastewater isolates of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and microalga Chlorella sorokiniana. The data show that biomass production and mutualistic growth improved when co-evolved yeast and microalgae strains were paired together. Combinations of co-evolved strains displayed a range of phenotypes, including differences in amino acid profiles. Taken together, the results demonstrate that biotic selection pressures can lead to improved mutualistic growth phenotypes over relatively short time periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Oosthuizen
- Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - R K Naidoo
- Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - D Rossouw
- Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - F F Bauer
- Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
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