Impacts of humic substances, elevated temperature, and UVB radiation on bacterial communities of the marine sponge Chondrilla sp.

Sponges are abundant components of coral reefs known for their filtration capabilities and intricate interactions with microbes. They play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of coral reefs. Humic substances (HS) affect bacterial communities across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. However, the specific effects of HS on sponge-associated microbial symbionts have largely been neglected. Here, we used a randomized-controlled microcosm setup to investigate the independent and interactive effects of HS, elevated temperature, and UVB radiation on bacterial communities associated with the sponge Chondrilla sp. Our results indicated the presence of a core bacterial community consisting of relatively abundant members, apparently resilient to the tested environmental perturbations, alongside a variable bacterial community. Elevated temperature positively affected the relative abundances of ASVs related to Planctomycetales and members of the families Pseudohongiellaceae and Hyphomonadaceae. HS increased the relative abundances of several ASVs potentially involved in recalcitrant organic matter degradation (e.g., the BD2-11 terrestrial group, Saccharimonadales, and SAR202 clade). There was no significant independent effect of UVB and there were no significant interactive effects of HS, heat, and UVB on bacterial diversity and composition. The significant, independent impact of HS on the composition of sponge bacterial communities suggests that alterations to HS inputs may have cascading effects on adjacent marine ecosystems.

Independent and interactive effects of reduced seawater pH and oil contamination on subsurface sediment bacterial communities.

Ocean acidification may exacerbate the environmental impact of oil hydrocarbon pollution by disrupting the core composition of the superficial (0-1 cm) benthic bacterial communities. However, at the subsurface sediments (approximately 5 cm below sea floor), the local biochemical characteristics and the superjacent sediment barrier may buffer these environmental changes. In this study, we used a microcosm experimental approach to access the independent and interactive effects of reduced seawater pH and oil contamination on the composition of subsurface benthic bacterial communities, at two time points, by 16S rRNA gene-based high-throughput sequencing. An in-depth taxa-specific variance analysis revealed that the independent effects of reduced seawater pH and oil contamination were significant predictors of changes in the relative abundance of some specific bacterial groups (e.g., Firmicutes, Rhizobiales, and Desulfobulbaceae). However, our results indicated that the overall microbial community structure was not affected by independent and interactive effects of reduced pH and oil contamination. This study provides evidence that bacterial communities inhabiting subsurface sediment may be less susceptible to the effects of oil contamination in a scenario of reduced seawater pH.

Biodegradation of 17ß-estradiol by bacteria isolated from deep sea sediments in aerobic and anaerobic media.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are considered as high research priority being a source of potential adverse ecological health effects in environmental waters. 17ß-Estradiol (E2), a recalcitrant natural estrogen, is typically encountered in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) at levels ranging 10-30ngL-1 in the influent flow and 1-3ngL-1 in the effluent flow. The exposure to even extremely low concentrations of E2 may interfere with the normal function of the endocrine system of organisms. In this study, five bacteria isolated from enrichment cultures of sediments of mud volcanoes of the Gulf of Cadiz (Moroccan-Iberian margin) were identified as aerobic E2 biodegraders, which produce low amounts of biotransformed estrone (E1). Analysis of 16S rDNA gene sequences identified three of them as Virgibacillus halotolerans, Bacillus flexus and Bacillus licheniformis. Among the set of strains, Bacillus licheniformis showed also ability to biodegrade E2 under anaerobic conditions.