title: A Place to Call Home: An Analysis of the Bacterial Communities in Two Tethya rubra Samaai and Gibbons 2005 Populations in Algoa Bay, South Africa.
abstract: Sponges are important sources of bioactive secondary metabolites. These compounds are frequently synthesized by bacterial symbionts, which may be recruited from the surrounding seawater or transferred to the sponge progeny by the parent. In this study, we investigated the bacterial communities associated with the spongeTethya rubraSamaai and Gibbons 2005. Sponge specimens were collected from Evans Peak and RIY Banks reefs in Algoa Bay, South Africa and taxonomically identified by spicule analysis and molecular barcoding. Crude chemical extracts generated from individual sponges were profiled by ultraviolet high performance liquid chromatography (UV-HPLC) and subjected to bioactivity assays in mammalian cells. Next-generation sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences was used to characterize sponge-associated bacterial communities.T. rubrasponges collected from the two locations were morphologically and genetically indistinguishable.Chemical extracts from sponges collected at RIY banks showed mild inhibition of the metabolic activity of mammalian cells and their UV-HPLC profiles were distinct from those of sponges collected at Evans Peak. Similarly, the bacterial communities associated with sponges from the two locations were distinct with evidence of vertical transmission of symbionts from the sponge parent to its embryos. We conclude that these distinct bacterial communities may be responsible for the differences observed in the chemical profiles of the two Algoa BayT. rubraSamaai and Gibbons 2005 populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa. samche42@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Samantha C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Waterworth
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa. meesbahjiwaji@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Meesbah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiwaji
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa. j.kalinski@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Jarmo-Charles J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kalinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa. shirley@saeon.co.za.|Elwandle Coastal Node, South African Environmental Observation Network, Port Elizabeth 6001, South Africa. shirley@saeon.co.za.
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parker-Nance
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6139, South Africa. r.dorrington@ru.ac.za.
authors.forename: Rosemary A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Dorrington
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D061006:Bays / Q000382:microbiology*; D044822:Biodiversity; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D011161:Porifera / Q000382:microbiology*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: bioactive compounds; drug discovery and development; marine metagenomics; marine microbiology