Bacteria associated with the in hospite Symbiodiniaceae's phycosphere

Lilian Jorge Hill; Camila Simões Martins de Aguiar Messias; Caren Leite Spindola Vilela; Alessandro N Garritano; Helena Dias Muller Villela; Flavia Lima do Carmo; Torsten Thomas; Raquel S Peixoto

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.109531

Bacteria associated with the in hospite Symbiodiniaceae's phycosphere

iScience. 2024 Mar 19;27(4):109531. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109531. eCollection 2024 Apr 19.

Authors

Lilian Jorge Hill¹, Camila Simões Martins de Aguiar Messias¹, Caren Leite Spindola Vilela¹, Alessandro N Garritano², Helena Dias Muller Villela³, Flavia Lima do Carmo¹, Torsten Thomas², Raquel S Peixoto³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology, Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-901, Brazil.
² Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Symbiotic interactions between Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria are still poorly explored, especially those in hospite. Here, we adapted a technique that allows for the enrichment of intact and metabolically active in hospite Symbiodiniaceae cells (ihSC) and their associated bacteria from the tissue of the model coral Pocillopora damicornis, using a discontinuous gradient of solution of isotonic Percoll (SIP). The ihSC were concentrated in the 50% SIP fraction, as determined by microscopy. The presence of bacteria associated with ihSC was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization, while microbiome analysis indicated that bacteria of the families Halieaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, and Alcanivoraceae are significantly associated with ihSC. Extracellular vesicles that could be exuding molecules were detected on the symbiosome membranes. Our technique and data contribute to elucidate ihSC-bacteria interactions.

Keywords: bacteriology; biological sciences; microbiology.