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Jones AL, Pratt CJ, Meili CH, Soo RM, Hugenholtz P, Elshahed MS, Youssef NH. Anaerobic gut fungal communities in marsupial hosts. mBio 2024; 15:e0337023. [PMID: 38259066 PMCID: PMC10865811 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03370-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The anaerobic gut fungi (AGF) inhabit the alimentary tracts of herbivores. In contrast to placental mammals, information regarding the identity, diversity, and community structure of AGF in marsupials is extremely sparse. Here, we characterized AGF communities in 61 fecal samples from 10 marsupial species belonging to four families in the order Diprotodontia: Vombatidae (wombats), Phascolarctidae (koalas), Phalangeridae (possums), and Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies, and pademelons). An amplicon-based diversity survey using the D2 region of the large ribosomal subunit as a phylogenetic marker indicated that marsupial AGF communities were dominated by eight genera commonly encountered in placental herbivores (Neocallimastix, Caecomyces, Cyllamyces, Anaeromyces, Orpinomyces, Piromyces, Pecoramyces, and Khoyollomyces). Community structure analysis revealed a high level of stochasticity, and ordination approaches did not reveal a significant role for the animal host, gut type, dietary preferences, or lifestyle in structuring marsupial AGF communities. Marsupial foregut and hindgut communities displayed diversity and community structure patterns comparable to AGF communities typically encountered in placental foregut hosts while exhibiting a higher level of diversity and a distinct community structure compared to placental hindgut communities. Quantification of AGF load using quantitative PCR indicated a significantly smaller load in marsupial hosts compared to their placental counterparts. Isolation efforts were only successful from a single red kangaroo fecal sample and yielded a Khoyollomyces ramosus isolate closely related to strains previously isolated from placental hosts. Our results suggest that AGF communities in marsupials are in low abundance and show little signs of selection based on ecological and evolutionary factors.IMPORTANCEThe AGF are integral part of the microbiome of herbivores. They play a crucial role in breaking down plant biomass in hindgut and foregut fermenters. The majority of research has been conducted on the AGF community in placental mammalian hosts. However, it is important to note that many marsupial mammals are also herbivores and employ a hindgut or foregut fermentation strategy for breaking down plant biomass. So far, very little is known regarding the AGF diversity and community structure in marsupial mammals. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted an amplicon-based diversity survey targeting AGF in 61 fecal samples from 10 marsupial species. We hypothesize that, given the distinct evolutionary history and alimentary tract architecture, novel and unique AGF communities would be encountered in marsupials. Our results indicate that marsupial AGF communities are highly stochastic, present in relatively low loads, and display community structure patterns comparable to AGF communities typically encountered in placental foregut hosts. Our results indicate that marsupial hosts harbor AGF communities; however, in contrast to the strong pattern of phylosymbiosis typically observed between AGF and placental herbivores, the identity and gut architecture appear to play a minor role in structuring AGF communities in marsupials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne L. Jones
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Carrie J. Pratt
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Casey H. Meili
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Rochelle M. Soo
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mostafa S. Elshahed
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Noha H. Youssef
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
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2
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Volmer JG, Soo RM, Evans PN, Hoedt EC, Astorga Alsina AL, Woodcroft BJ, Tyson GW, Hugenholtz P, Morrison M. Isolation and characterisation of novel Methanocorpusculum species indicates the genus is ancestrally host-associated. BMC Biol 2023; 21:59. [PMID: 36949471 PMCID: PMC10035134 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01524-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With an increasing interest in the manipulation of methane produced from livestock cultivation, the microbiome of Australian marsupials provides a unique ecological and evolutionary comparison with 'low-methane' emitters. Previously, marsupial species were shown to be enriched for novel lineages of Methanocorpusculum, as well as Methanobrevibacter, Methanosphaera, and Methanomassiliicoccales. Despite sporadic reports of Methanocorpusculum from stool samples of various animal species, there remains little information on the impacts of these methanogens on their hosts. RESULTS Here, we characterise novel host-associated species of Methanocorpusculum, to explore unique host-specific genetic factors and their associated metabolic potential. We performed comparative analyses on 176 Methanocorpusculum genomes comprising 130 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) recovered from 20 public animal metagenome datasets and 35 other publicly available Methanocorpusculum MAGs and isolate genomes of host-associated and environmental origin. Nine MAGs were also produced from faecal metagenomes of the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) and mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis), along with the cultivation of one axenic isolate from each respective animal; M. vombati (sp. nov.) and M. petauri (sp. nov.). CONCLUSIONS Through our analyses, we substantially expand the available genetic information for this genus by describing the phenotypic and genetic characteristics of 23 host-associated species of Methanocorpusculum. These lineages display differential enrichment of genes associated with methanogenesis, amino acid biosynthesis, transport system proteins, phosphonate metabolism, and carbohydrate-active enzymes. These results provide insights into the differential genetic and functional adaptations of these novel host-associated species of Methanocorpusculum and suggest that this genus is ancestrally host-associated.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G Volmer
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland Frazer Institute, Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia
- Centre for Microbiome Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia
| | - Rochelle M Soo
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Paul N Evans
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Emily C Hoedt
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland Frazer Institute, Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia
- Current Address: NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Digestive Health, Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Ana L Astorga Alsina
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland Frazer Institute, Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia
| | - Benjamin J Woodcroft
- Centre for Microbiome Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia
| | - Gene W Tyson
- Centre for Microbiome Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Mark Morrison
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland Frazer Institute, Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia.
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Blyton MDJ, Pascoe J, Hynes E, Soo RM, Hugenholtz P, Moore BD. The koala gut microbiome is largely unaffected by host translocation but rather influences host diet. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1085090. [PMID: 36937253 PMCID: PMC10018171 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1085090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Translocation is a valuable and increasingly used strategy for the management of both threatened and overabundant wildlife populations. However, in some instances the translocated animals fail to thrive. Differences in diet between the source and destination areas may contribute to poor translocation outcomes, which could conceivably be exacerbated if the animals' microbiomes are unsuited to the new diet and cannot adapt. Methods In this study we tracked how the faecal microbiome of a specialist Eucalyptus folivore, the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), changed over the course of a year after translocation. We assessed microbiome composition by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of faecal pellets. Results We found no significant overall changes in the faecal microbiomes of koalas post-translocation (n = 17) in terms of microbial richness, diversity or composition when compared to the faecal microbiomes of koalas from an untranslocated control group (n = 12). This was despite the translocated koalas feeding on a greater variety of Eucalyptus species after translocation. Furthermore, while differences between koalas accounted for half of the microbiome variation, estimated diets at the time of sampling only accounted for 5% of the variation in the koala microbiomes between sampling periods. By contrast, we observed that the composition of koala faecal microbiomes at the time of translocation accounted for 37% of between koala variation in post-translocation diet. We also observed that translocated koalas lost body condition during the first month post-translocation and that the composition of the koalas' initial microbiomes were associated with the magnitude of that change. Discussion These findings suggest that the koala gut microbiome was largely unaffected by dietary change and support previous findings suggesting that the koala gut microbiome influences the tree species chosen for feeding. They further indicate that future research is needed to establish whether the koalas' gut microbiomes are directly influencing their health and condition or whether aspects of the koala gut microbiomes are an indicator of underlying physiological differences or pathologies. Our study provides insights into how animal microbiomes may not always be affected by the extreme upheaval of translocation and highlights that responses may be host species-specific. We also provide recommendations to improve the success of koala translocations in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela D. J. Blyton
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia
- The University of Queensland, Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
- *Correspondence: Michaela D. J. Blyton,
| | - Jack Pascoe
- Conservation Ecology Centre, Cape Otway, VIC, Australia
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | | | - Rochelle M. Soo
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Ben D. Moore
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia
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4
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Blyton MDJ, Soo RM, Hugenholtz P, Moore BD. Characterization of the juvenile koala gut microbiome across wild populations. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:4209-4219. [PMID: 35018700 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In this study we compared the faecal microbiomes of wild joey koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) to those of adults, including their mothers, to establish whether gut microbiome maturation and inheritance in the wild is comparable to that seen in captivity. Our findings suggest that joey koala microbiomes slowly shift towards an adult assemblage between 6 and 12 months of age, as the microbiomes of 9-month-old joeys were more similar to those of adults than those of 7-month-olds, but still distinct. At the phylum level, differences between joeys and adults were broadly consistent with those in captivity, with Firmicutes increasing in relative abundance over the joeys' development and Proteobacteria decreasing. Of the fibre-degrading genes that increased in abundance over the development of captive joeys, those involved in hemicellulose and cellulose degradation, but not pectin degradation, were also generally found in higher abundance in adult wild koalas compared to 7-month-olds. Greater maternal inheritance of the faecal microbiome was seen in wild than in captive koalas, presumably due to the more solitary nature of wild koalas. This strong maternal inheritance of the gut microbiome could contribute to the development of localized differences in microbiome composition, population health and diet through spatial clustering of relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela D J Blyton
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia.,School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Rochelle M Soo
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, 4072, Australia
| | - Ben D Moore
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia
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5
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Blyton MDJ, Soo RM, Hugenholtz P, Moore BD. Maternal inheritance of the koala gut microbiome and its compositional and functional maturation during juvenile development. Environ Microbiol 2021; 24:475-493. [PMID: 34863030 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The acquisition and maturation of the gastrointestinal microbiome is a crucial aspect of mammalian development, particularly for specialist herbivores such as the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Joey koalas are thought to be inoculated with microorganisms by feeding on specialized maternal faeces (pap). We found that compared to faeces, pap has higher microbial density, higher microbial evenness and a higher proportion of rare taxa, which may facilitate the establishment of those taxa in joey koalas. We show that the microbiomes of captive joey koalas were on average more similar to those of their mothers than to other koalas, indicating strong maternal inheritance of the faecal microbiome, which can lead to intergenerational gut dysbiosis when the mother is ill. Directly after pap feeding, the joey koalas' microbiomes were enriched for milk-associated bacteria including Bacteroides fragilis, suggesting a conserved role for this species across mammalian taxa. The joeys' microbiomes then changed slowly over 5 months to resemble those of adults by 1 year of age. The relative abundance of fibrolytic bacteria and genes involved in the degradation of plant cell walls also increased in the infants over this time, likely in response to an increased proportion of Eucalyptus leaves in their diets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela D J Blyton
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia.,The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Qld, St Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Rochelle M Soo
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, Qld, St Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, Qld, St Lucia, 4072, Australia
| | - Ben D Moore
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia
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6
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Hugenholtz P, Chuvochina M, Oren A, Parks DH, Soo RM. Prokaryotic taxonomy and nomenclature in the age of big sequence data. ISME J 2021; 15:1879-1892. [PMID: 33824426 PMCID: PMC8245423 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-00941-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The classification of life forms into a hierarchical system (taxonomy) and the application of names to this hierarchy (nomenclature) is at a turning point in microbiology. The unprecedented availability of genome sequences means that a taxonomy can be built upon a comprehensive evolutionary framework, a longstanding goal of taxonomists. However, there is resistance to adopting a single framework to preserve taxonomic freedom, and ever increasing numbers of genomes derived from uncultured prokaryotes threaten to overwhelm current nomenclatural practices, which are based on characterised isolates. The challenge ahead then is to reach a consensus on the taxonomic framework and to adapt and scale the existing nomenclatural code, or create a new code, to systematically incorporate uncultured taxa into the chosen framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Hugenholtz
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Maria Chuvochina
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Aharon Oren
- grid.9619.70000 0004 1937 0538Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Edmond J. Safra campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Donovan H. Parks
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
| | - Rochelle M. Soo
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD Australia
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7
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Abstract
For well over a hundred years, members of the bacterial phylum Cyanobacteria have been considered strictly photosynthetic microorganisms, reflected in their classification as "blue-green algae" in the botanical code. Recently, genomes recovered from environmental sequencing surveys representing two major uncultured basal lineages (classes) of Cyanobacteria have been found to completely lack photosynthetic and CO2 fixation genes. The most likely explanation for this finding is that oxygenic photosynthesis was not an ancestral feature of the Cyanobacteria, and rather originated following divergence of the primary lines of descent. Here we describe recent findings on the evolution of aerobic respiration in the non-photosynthetic cyanobacterial classes, and how this has been interpreted by researchers interested in the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rochelle M Soo
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
| | - James Hemp
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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8
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Shiffman ME, Soo RM, Dennis PG, Morrison M, Tyson GW, Hugenholtz P. Gene and genome-centric analyses of koala and wombat fecal microbiomes point to metabolic specialization for Eucalyptus digestion. PeerJ 2017; 5:e4075. [PMID: 29177117 PMCID: PMC5697889 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 10/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The koala has evolved to become a specialist Eucalyptus herbivore since diverging from its closest relative, the wombat, a generalist herbivore. This niche adaptation involves, in part, changes in the gut microbiota. The goal of this study was to compare koala and wombat fecal microbiomes using metagenomics to identify potential differences attributable to dietary specialization. Several populations discriminated between the koala and wombat fecal communities, most notably S24-7 and Synergistaceae in the koala, and Christensenellaceae and RF39 in the wombat. As expected for herbivores, both communities contained the genes necessary for lignocellulose degradation and urea recycling partitioned and redundantly encoded across multiple populations. Secondary metabolism was overrepresented in the koala fecal samples, consistent with the need to process Eucalyptus secondary metabolites. The Synergistaceae population encodes multiple pathways potentially relevant to Eucalyptus compound metabolism, and is predicted to be a key player in detoxification of the koala’s diet. Notably, characterized microbial isolates from the koala gut appear to be minor constituents of this habitat, and the metagenomes provide the opportunity for genome-directed isolation of more representative populations. Metagenomic analysis of other obligate and facultative Eucalyptus folivores will reveal whether putatively detoxifying bacteria identified in the koala are shared across these marsupials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam E Shiffman
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Rochelle M Soo
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Paul G Dennis
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Mark Morrison
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Gene W Tyson
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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9
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Soo RM, Hemp J, Parks DH, Fischer WW, Hugenholtz P. On the origins of oxygenic photosynthesis and aerobic respiration in Cyanobacteria. Science 2017; 355:1436-1440. [PMID: 28360330 DOI: 10.1126/science.aal3794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The origin of oxygenic photosynthesis in Cyanobacteria led to the rise of oxygen on Earth ~2.3 billion years ago, profoundly altering the course of evolution by facilitating the development of aerobic respiration and complex multicellular life. Here we report the genomes of 41 uncultured organisms related to the photosynthetic Cyanobacteria (class Oxyphotobacteria), including members of the class Melainabacteria and a new class of Cyanobacteria (class Sericytochromatia) that is basal to the Melainabacteria and Oxyphotobacteria All members of the Melainabacteria and Sericytochromatia lack photosynthetic machinery, indicating that phototrophy was not an ancestral feature of the Cyanobacteria and that Oxyphotobacteria acquired the genes for photosynthesis relatively late in cyanobacterial evolution. We show that all three classes independently acquired aerobic respiratory complexes, supporting the hypothesis that aerobic respiration evolved after oxygenic photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rochelle M Soo
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - James Hemp
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Donovan H Parks
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Woodward W Fischer
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
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10
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Soo RM, Skennerton CT, Sekiguchi Y, Imelfort M, Paech SJ, Dennis PG, Steen JA, Parks DH, Tyson GW, Hugenholtz P. An expanded genomic representation of the phylum cyanobacteria. Genome Biol Evol 2016; 6:1031-45. [PMID: 24709563 PMCID: PMC4040986 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular surveys of aphotic habitats have indicated the presence of major uncultured lineages phylogenetically classified as members of the Cyanobacteria. One of these lineages has recently been proposed as a nonphotosynthetic sister phylum to the Cyanobacteria, the Melainabacteria, based on recovery of population genomes from human gut and groundwater samples. Here, we expand the phylogenomic representation of the Melainabacteria through sequencing of six diverse population genomes from gut and bioreactor samples supporting the inference that this lineage is nonphotosynthetic, but not the assertion that they are strictly fermentative. We propose that the Melainabacteria is a class within the phylogenetically defined Cyanobacteria based on robust monophyly and shared ancestral traits with photosynthetic representatives. Our findings are consistent with theories that photosynthesis occurred late in the Cyanobacteria and involved extensive lateral gene transfer and extends the recognized functionality of members of this phylum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rochelle M. Soo
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Connor T. Skennerton
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Yuji Sekiguchi
- Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Michael Imelfort
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Samuel J. Paech
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul G. Dennis
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Present address: School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jason A. Steen
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Donovan H. Parks
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Gene W. Tyson
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- *Corresponding author: E-mail:
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11
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Soo RM, Woodcroft BJ, Parks DH, Tyson GW, Hugenholtz P. Back from the dead; the curious tale of the predatory cyanobacterium Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus. PeerJ 2015; 3:e968. [PMID: 26038723 PMCID: PMC4451040 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
An uncultured non-photosynthetic basal lineage of the Cyanobacteria, the Melainabacteria, was recently characterised by metagenomic analyses of aphotic environmental samples. However, a predatory bacterium, Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus, originally described in 1972 appears to be the first cultured representative of the Melainabacteria based on a 16S rRNA sequence recovered from a lyophilised co-culture of the organism. Here, we sequenced the genome of V. chlorellavorus directly from 36 year-old lyophilised material that could not be resuscitated confirming its identity as a member of the Melainabacteria. We identified attributes in the genome that likely allow V. chlorellavorus to function as an obligate predator of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris, and predict that it is the first described predator to use an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-like conjugative type IV secretion system to invade its host. V. chlorellavorus is the first cyanobacterium recognised to have a predatory lifestyle and further supports the assertion that Melainabacteria are non-photosynthetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rochelle M Soo
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia
| | - Ben J Woodcroft
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia
| | - Donovan H Parks
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia
| | - Gene W Tyson
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia ; Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia
| | - Philip Hugenholtz
- Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia ; Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland , St Lucia, QLD , Australia
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Bourne DG, Dennis PG, Uthicke S, Soo RM, Tyson GW, Webster N. Erratum: Coral reef invertebrate microbiomes correlate with the presence of photosymbionts. ISME J 2013. [DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2013.71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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13
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Webster NS, Luter HM, Soo RM, Botté ES, Simister RL, Abdo D, Whalan S. Same, same but different: symbiotic bacterial associations in GBR sponges. Front Microbiol 2013; 3:444. [PMID: 23346080 PMCID: PMC3548243 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2012] [Accepted: 12/31/2012] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Symbioses in marine sponges involve diverse consortia of microorganisms that contribute to the health and ecology of their hosts. The microbial communities of 13 taxonomically diverse Great Barrier Reef (GBR) sponge species were assessed by DGGE and 16S rRNA gene sequencing to determine intra and inter species variation in bacterial symbiont composition. Microbial profiling revealed communities that were largely conserved within different individuals of each species with intra species similarity ranging from 65–100%. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Nitrospira, and Cyanobacteria. Sponge-associated microbes were also highly host-specific with no operational taxonomic units (OTUs) common to all species and the most ubiquitous OTU found in only 5 of the 13 sponge species. In total, 91% of the OTUs were restricted to a single sponge species. However, GBR sponge microbes were more closely related to other sponge-derived bacteria than they were to environmental communities with sequences falling within 50 of the 173 previously defined sponge-(or sponge-coral) specific sequence clusters (SC). These SC spanned the Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Nitrospira, and the Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae superphylum. The number of sequences assigned to these sponge-specific clusters across all species ranged from 0 to 92%. No relationship between host phylogeny and symbiont communities were observed across the different sponge orders, although the highest level of similarity was detected in two closely related Xestospongia species. This study identifies the core microbial inhabitants in a range of GBR sponges thereby providing the basis for future studies on sponge symbiotic function and research aiming to predict how sponge holobionts will respond to environmental perturbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- N S Webster
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville, QLD, Australia
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Bourne DG, Dennis PG, Uthicke S, Soo RM, Tyson GW, Webster N. Coral reef invertebrate microbiomes correlate with the presence of photosymbionts. ISME J 2013; 7:1452-8. [PMID: 23303372 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2012.172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Coral reefs provide habitat for an array of marine invertebrates that host symbiotic microbiomes. Photosynthetic symbionts including Symbiodinium dinoflagellates and diatoms potentially influence the diversity of their host-associated microbiomes by releasing carbon-containing photosynthates and other organic compounds that fuel microbial metabolism. Here we used 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon pyrosequencing to characterise the microbiomes of 11 common Great Barrier Reef marine invertebrate species that host photosynthetic symbionts and five taxa in which they are absent. The presence of photosynthetic symbionts influenced the composition but not the species richness, evenness and phylogenetic diversity of invertebrate-associated microbiomes. Invertebrates without photosynthetic symbionts were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, whereas those hosting photosynthetic symbionts were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria. Interestingly, many microbial species from photosymbiont-bearing invertebrates, including Oceanospirillales spp., Alteromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Halomonas spp., are implicated in the metabolism of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). DMSP is produced in high concentrations by photosynthetic dinoflagellates and is involved in climate regulation by facilitating cloud formation. Microbiomes correlated with host taxa and replicate individuals from most sampled species grouped in distance-based redundancy analysis of retrieved 16S rRNA gene sequences. This study highlights the complex nature of invertebrate holobionts and confirms the importance of photosynthetic symbionts in structuring marine invertebrate bacterial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Bourne
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland, Australia
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15
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Ceh J, Raina JB, Soo RM, van Keulen M, Bourne DG. Coral-bacterial communities before and after a coral mass spawning event on Ningaloo Reef. PLoS One 2012; 7:e36920. [PMID: 22629343 PMCID: PMC3353996 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2012] [Accepted: 04/15/2012] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria associated with three coral species, Acropora tenuis, Pocillopora damicornis and Tubastrea faulkneri, were assessed before and after coral mass spawning on Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Two colonies of each species were sampled before and after the mass spawning event and two additional samples were collected for P. damicornis after planulation. A variable 470 bp region of the 16 S rRNA gene was selected for pyrosequencing to provide an understanding of potential variations in coral-associated bacterial diversity and community structure. Bacterial diversity increased for all coral species after spawning as assessed by Chao1 diversity indicators. Minimal changes in community structure were observed at the class level and data at the taxonomical level of genus incorporated into a PCA analysis indicated that despite bacterial diversity increasing after spawning, coral-associated community structure did not shift greatly with samples grouped according to species. However, interesting changes could be detected from the dataset; for example, α-Proteobacteria increased in relative abundance after coral spawning and particularly the Roseobacter clade was found to be prominent in all coral species, indicating that this group may be important in coral reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janja Ceh
- School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
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16
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Abstract
Marine sponges are critical components of benthic environments; however, their sessile habit, requirement to filter large volumes of water and complex symbiotic partnerships make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of global climate change. We assessed the effect of elevated seawater temperature on bacterial communities in larvae of the Great Barrier Reef sponge, Rhopaloeides odorabile. In contrast to the strict thermal threshold of 32°C previously identified in adult R. odorabile, larvae exhibit a markedly higher thermal tolerance, with no adverse health effects detected at temperatures below 36°C. Similarly, larval microbial communities were conserved at temperatures up to 34°C with a highly significant shift occurring after 24 h at 36°C. This shift involved the loss of previously described symbionts (in particular the Nitrospira, Chloroflexi and a Roseobacter lineage) and the appearance of new Gammaproteobacteria not detected at lower temperatures. Here, we demonstrated that sponge larvae maintain highly stable symbioses at seawater temperatures exceeding those that are predicted under current climate change scenarios. In addition, by revealing that the shift in microbial composition occurs in conjunction with necrosis and mortality of larvae at 36°C we have provided additional evidence of the strong link between host health and the stability of symbiont communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole S Webster
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia
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Soo RM, Wood SA, Grzymski JJ, McDonald IR, Cary SC. Microbial biodiversity of thermophilic communities in hot mineral soils of Tramway Ridge, Mount Erebus, Antarctica. Environ Microbiol 2009; 11:715-28. [PMID: 19278453 DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.01859.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Tramway Ridge, located near the summit of Mount Erebus in Antarctica, is probably the most remote geothermal soil habitat on Earth. Steam fumaroles maintain moist, hot soil environments creating extreme local physicochemical differentials. In this study a culture-independent approach combining automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and a 16S rRNA gene library was used to characterize soil microbial (Bacterial and Archaeal) diversity along intense physicochemical gradients. Statistical analysis of ARISA data showed a clear delineation between bacterial community structure at sites close to fumaroles and all other sites. Temperature and pH were identified as the primary drivers of this demarcation. A clone library constructed from a high-temperature site led to the identification of 18 novel bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs). All 16S rRNA gene sequences were deep branching and distantly (85-93%) related to other environmental clones. Five of the signatures branched with an unknown group between candidate division OP10 and Chloroflexi. Within this clade, sequence similarity was low, suggesting it contains several yet-to-be described bacterial groups. Five archaeal OTUs were obtained and exhibited high levels of sequence similarity (95-97%) with Crenarchaeota sourced from deep-subsurface environments on two distant continents. The novel bacterial assemblage coupled with the unique archaeal affinities reinvigorates the hypotheses that Tramway Ridge organisms are relics of archaic microbial lineages specifically adapted to survive in this harsh environment and that this site may provide a portal to the deep-subsurface biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rochelle M Soo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
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Niederberger TD, McDonald IR, Hacker AL, Soo RM, Barrett JE, Wall DH, Cary SC. Microbial community composition in soils of Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Environ Microbiol 2008; 10:1713-24. [PMID: 18373679 DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01593.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Biotic communities and ecosystem dynamics in terrestrial Antarctica are limited by an array of extreme conditions including low temperatures, moisture and organic matter availability, high salinity, and a paucity of biodiversity to facilitate key ecological processes. Recent studies have discovered that the prokaryotic communities in these extreme systems are highly diverse with patchy distributions. Investigating the physical and biological controls over the distribution and activity of microbial biodiversity in Victoria Land is essential to understanding ecological functioning in this region. Currently, little information on the distribution, structure and activity of soil communities anywhere in Victoria Land are available, and their sensitivity to potential climate change remains largely unknown. We investigated soil microbial communities from low- and high-productivity habitats in an isolated Antarctic location to determine how the soil environment impacts microbial community composition and structure. The microbial communities in Luther Vale, Northern Victoria Land were analysed using bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and were related to soil geochemical parameters and classical morphological analysis of soil metazoan invertebrate communities. A total of 323 16S rRNA gene sequences analysed from four soils spanning a productivity gradient indicated a high diversity (Shannon-Weaver values > 3) of phylotypes within the clone libraries and distinct differences in community structure between the two soil productivity habitats linked to water and nutrient availability. In particular, members of the Deinococcus/Thermus lineage were found exclusively in the drier, low-productivity soils, while Gammaproteobacteria of the genus Xanthomonas were found exclusively in high-productivity soils. However, rarefaction curves indicated that these microbial habitats remain under-sampled. Our results add to the recent literature suggesting that there is a higher biodiversity within Antarctic soils than previously expected.
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