title: Feeding cessation alters host morphology and bacterial communities in the ascidian Pseudodistoma crucigaster.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ascidians can associate with abundant and diverse consortia of microbial symbionts, yet these communities remain unexamined for the majority of host ascidians and little is known about host-symbiont interactions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We coupled electron microscopy and 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing to investigate the bacterial communities associated with the colonial ascidian Pseudodistoma crucigaster, a species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea that has a life cycle with two phases: actively-filtering (active) and non-filtering (resting) forms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Resting colonies exhibited a reduced branchial sac (feeding apparatus) and a thickened cuticle. Electron microscope images also suggested higher abundance of colonizing microorganisms on surfaces of resting colonies. Accordingly, bacterial sequences associated with environmental sources (sediment and biofilms, >99 % similarity) were detected exclusively in resting colonies. Bacterial communities of P. crucigaster colonies (active and resting) were dominated by 3 core taxa affiliated (>94 % similarity) with previously described symbiotic Alphaproteobacteria in marine invertebrates. Shifts in rare bacteria were detected when ascidians entered the resting phase, including the appearance of strictly anaerobic lineages and nitrifying bacterial guilds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that physical (thickened cuticle) and metabolic (feeding cessation) changes in host ascidians have cascading effects on associated bacteria, where modified oxygen concentrations and chemical substrates for microbial metabolism may create anaerobic microhabitats and promote colonization by environmental microorganisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & Marine Biology, and Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane, 28409 Wilmington, USA.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: López-Legentil
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Accés Cala S. Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Turon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & Marine Biology, and Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane, 28409 Wilmington, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Erwin
keywords: 16S rRNA; Bacterial diversity; Filter-feeding; Mediterranean sea; Next-generation sequencing; SEM; Symbiosis; TEM; Tunicate