Background

Marine sponges and their microbiomes contribute significantly to carbon and nutrient cycling in global reefs, processing and remineralizing dissolved and particulate organic matter. Lamellodysidea herbacea sponges obtain additional energy from abundant photosynthetic Hormoscilla cyanobacterial symbionts, which also produce polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) chemically similar to anthropogenic pollutants of environmental concern. Potential contributions of non-Hormoscilla bacteria to Lamellodysidea microbiome metabolism and the synthesis and degradation of additional secondary metabolites are currently unknown.

Results

This study has determined relative abundance, taxonomic novelty, metabolic capacities, and secondary metabolite potential in 21 previously uncharacterized, uncultured Lamellodysidea-associated microbial populations by reconstructing near-complete metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to complement 16S rRNA gene amplicon studies. Microbial community compositions aligned with sponge host subgroup phylogeny in 16 samples from four host clades collected from multiple sites in Guam over a 3-year period, including representatives of Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Oligoflexia, and Bacteroidetes as well as Cyanobacteria (Hormoscilla). Unexpectedly, microbiomes from one host clade also included Cyanobacteria from the prolific secondary metabolite-producer genus Prochloron, a common tunicate symbiont. Two novel Alphaproteobacteria MAGs encoded pathways diagnostic for methylotrophic metabolism as well as type III secretion systems, and have been provisionally assigned to a new order, designated Candidatus Methylospongiales. MAGs from other taxonomic groups encoded light-driven energy production pathways using not only chlorophyll, but also bacteriochlorophyll and proteorhodopsin. Diverse heterotrophic capabilities favoring aerobic versus anaerobic conditions included pathways for degrading chitin, eukaryotic extracellular matrix polymers, phosphonates, dimethylsulfoniopropionate, trimethylamine, and benzoate. Genetic evidence identified an aerobic catabolic pathway for halogenated aromatics that may enable endogenous PBDEs to be used as a carbon and energy source.

Conclusions

The reconstruction of high-quality MAGs from all microbial taxa comprising greater than 0.1% of the sponge microbiome enabled species-specific assignment of unique metabolic features that could not have been predicted from taxonomic data alone. This information will promote more representative models of marine invertebrate microbiome contributions to host bioenergetics, the identification of potential new sponge parasites and pathogens based on conserved metabolic and physiological markers, and a better understanding of biosynthetic and degradative pathways for secondary metabolites and halogenated compounds in sponge-associated microbiota. Video Abstract.

Coastal herbivorous fishes consume macroalgae, which is then degraded by microbes along their digestive tract. However, there is scarce genomic information about the microbiota that perform this degradation. This study explores the potential of Kyphosus gastrointestinal microbial symbionts to collaboratively degrade and ferment polysaccharides from red, green, and brown macroalgae through in silico study of carbohydrate-active enzyme and sulfatase sequences. Recovery of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from previously described Kyphosus gut metagenomes and newly sequenced bioreactor enrichments reveals differences in enzymatic capabilities between the major microbial taxa in Kyphosus guts. The most versatile of the recovered MAGs were from the Bacteroidota phylum, whose MAGs house enzyme collections able to decompose a variety of algal polysaccharides. Unique enzymes and predicted degradative capacities of genomes from the Bacillota (genus Vallitalea) and Verrucomicrobiota (order Kiritimatiellales) highlight the importance of metabolic contributions from multiple phyla to broaden polysaccharide degradation capabilities. Few genomes contain the required enzymes to fully degrade any complex sulfated algal polysaccharide alone. The distribution of suitable enzymes between MAGs originating from different taxa, along with the widespread detection of signal peptides in candidate enzymes, is consistent with cooperative extracellular degradation of these carbohydrates. This study leverages genomic evidence to reveal an untapped diversity at the enzyme and strain level among Kyphosus symbionts and their contributions to macroalgae decomposition. Bioreactor enrichments provide a genomic foundation for degradative and fermentative processes central to translating the knowledge gained from this system to the aquaculture and bioenergy sectors.IMPORTANCESeaweed has long been considered a promising source of sustainable biomass for bioenergy and aquaculture feed, but scalable industrial methods for decomposing terrestrial compounds can struggle to break down seaweed polysaccharides efficiently due to their unique sulfated structures. Fish of the genus Kyphosus feed on seaweed by leveraging gastrointestinal bacteria to degrade algal polysaccharides into simple sugars. This study reconstructs metagenome-assembled genomes for these gastrointestinal bacteria to enhance our understanding of herbivorous fish digestion and fermentation of algal sugars. Investigations at the gene level identify Kyphosus guts as an untapped source of seaweed-degrading enzymes ripe for further characterization. These discoveries set the stage for future work incorporating marine enzymes and microbial communities in the industrial degradation of algal polysaccharides.

Daphnia, an ecologically important zooplankton species in lakes, shows both genetic adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in response to temperature and fish predation, but little is known about the molecular basis of these responses and their potential interactions. We performed a factorial experiment exposing laboratory-propagated Daphnia pulicaria clones from two lakes in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California to normal or high temperature (15°C or 25°C) in the presence or absence of fish kairomones, then measured changes in life history and gene expression. Exposure to kairomones increased upper thermal tolerance limits for physiological activity in both clones. Cloned individuals matured at a younger age in response to higher temperature and kairomones, while size at maturity, fecundity and population intrinsic growth were only affected by temperature. At the molecular level, both clones expressed more genes differently in response to temperature than predation, but specific genes involved in metabolic, cellular, and genetic processes responded differently between the two clones. Although gene expression differed more between clones from different lakes than experimental treatments, similar phenotypic responses to predation risk and warming arose from these clone-specific patterns. Our results suggest that phenotypic plasticity responses to temperature and kairomones interact synergistically, with exposure to fish predators increasing the tolerance of Daphnia pulicaria to stressful temperatures, and that similar phenotypic responses to temperature and predator cues can be produced by divergent patterns of gene regulation.

A near-complete diploid nuclear genome and accompanying circular mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes have been assembled from the elite commercial diatom species Nitzschia inconspicua. The 50 Mbp haploid size of the nuclear genome is nearly double that of model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, but 30% smaller than closer relative Fragilariopsis cylindrus. Diploid assembly, which was facilitated by low levels of allelic heterozygosity (2.7%), included 14 candidate chromosome pairs composed of long, syntenic contigs, covering 93% of the total assembly. Telomeric ends were capped with an unusual 12-mer, G-rich, degenerate repeat sequence. Predicted proteins were highly enriched in strain-specific marker domains associated with cell-surface adhesion, biofilm formation, and raphe system gliding motility. Expanded species-specific families of carbonic anhydrases suggest potential enhancement of carbon concentration efficiency, and duplicated glycolysis and fatty acid synthesis pathways across cytosolic and organellar compartments may enhance peak metabolic output, contributing to competitive success over other organisms in mixed cultures. The N. inconspicua genome delivers a robust new reference for future functional and transcriptomic studies to illuminate the physiology of benthic pennate diatoms and harness their unique adaptations to support commercial algae biomass and bioproduct production.

Marine herbivorous fish that feed primarily on macroalgae, such as those from the genus Kyphosus, are essential for maintaining coral health and abundance on tropical reefs. Here, deep metagenomic sequencing and assembly of gut compartment-specific samples from three sympatric, macroalgivorous Hawaiian kyphosid species have been used to connect host gut microbial taxa with predicted protein functional capacities likely to contribute to efficient macroalgal digestion. Bacterial community compositions, algal dietary sources, and predicted enzyme functionalities were analyzed in parallel for 16 metagenomes spanning the mid- and hindgut digestive regions of wild-caught fishes. Gene colocalization patterns of expanded carbohydrate (CAZy) and sulfatase (SulfAtlas) digestive enzyme families on assembled contigs were used to identify likely polysaccharide utilization locus associations and to visualize potential cooperative networks of extracellularly exported proteins targeting complex sulfated polysaccharides. These insights into the gut microbiota of herbivorous marine fish and their functional capabilities improve our understanding of the enzymes and microorganisms involved in digesting complex macroalgal sulfated polysaccharides. IMPORTANCE This work connects specific uncultured bacterial taxa with distinct polysaccharide digestion capabilities lacking in their marine vertebrate hosts, providing fresh insights into poorly understood processes for deconstructing complex sulfated polysaccharides and potential evolutionary mechanisms for microbial acquisition of expanded macroalgal utilization gene functions. Several thousand new marine-specific candidate enzyme sequences for polysaccharide utilization have been identified. These data provide foundational resources for future investigations into suppression of coral reef macroalgal overgrowth, fish host physiology, the use of macroalgal feedstocks in terrestrial and aquaculture animal feeds, and the bioconversion of macroalgae biomass into value-added commercial fuel and chemical products.