Insights into the potential for mutualistic and harmful host-microbe interactions affecting brown alga freshwater acclimation.

Microbes can modify their hosts' stress tolerance, thus potentially enhancing their ecological range. An example of such interactions is Ectocarpus subulatus, one of the few freshwater-tolerant brown algae. This tolerance is partially due to its (un)cultivated microbiome. We investigated this phenomenon by modifying the microbiome of laboratory-grown E. subulatus using mild antibiotic treatments, which affected its ability to grow in low salinity. Low salinity acclimation of these algal-bacterial associations was then compared. Salinity significantly impacted bacterial and viral gene expression, albeit in different ways across algal-bacterial communities. In contrast, gene expression of the host and metabolite profiles were affected almost exclusively in the freshwater-intolerant algal-bacterial communities. We found no evidence of bacterial protein production that would directly improve algal stress tolerance. However, vitamin K synthesis is one possible bacterial service missing specifically in freshwater-intolerant cultures in low salinity. In this condition, we also observed a relative increase in bacterial transcriptomic activity and the induction of microbial genes involved in the biosynthesis of the autoinducer AI-1, a quorum-sensing regulator. This could have resulted in dysbiosis by causing a shift in bacterial behaviour in the intolerant algal-bacterial community. Together, these results provide two promising hypotheses to be examined by future targeted experiments. Although they apply only to the specific study system, they offer an example of how bacteria may impact their host's stress response.

Draft Genome Sequence of Vibrio jasicida 20LP, an Opportunistic Bacterium Isolated from Fish Larvae.

We present the genome sequence of Vibrio jasicida 20LP, a bacterial strain retrieved from larvae of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), a highly valuable, model fish species in land-based aquaculture. Annotation of the V. jasicida 20LP genome reveals multiple genomic features potentially underpinning opportunistic associations with diverse marine animals.

Draft Genome Sequence of Vibrio chagasii 18LP, Isolated from Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata) Larvae Reared in Aquaculture.

We report the draft genome sequence of Vibrio chagasii strain 18LP, isolated from gilthead seabream larvae at a fish hatchery research station in Portugal. The genome presents numerous features underlying opportunistic behavior, including genes coding for toxin biosynthesis and tolerance, host cell invasion, and heavy metal resistance.

Resistance of seagrass habitats to ocean acidification via altered interactions in a tri-trophic chain.

Despite the wide knowledge about prevalent effects of ocean acidification on single species, the consequences on species interactions that may promote or prevent habitat shifts are still poorly understood. Using natural CO2 vents, we investigated changes in a key tri-trophic chain embedded within all its natural complexity in seagrass systems. We found that seagrass habitats remain stable at vents despite the changes in their tri-trophic components. Under high pCO2, the feeding of a key herbivore (sea urchin) on a less palatable seagrass and its associated epiphytes decreased, whereas the feeding on higher-palatable green algae increased. We also observed a doubled density of a predatory wrasse under acidified conditions. Bottom-up CO2 effects interact with top-down control by predators to maintain the abundance of sea urchin populations under ambient and acidified conditions. The weakened urchin herbivory on a seagrass that was subjected to an intense fish herbivory at vents compensates the overall herbivory pressure on the habitat-forming seagrass. Overall plasticity of the studied system components may contribute to prevent habitat loss and to stabilize the system under acidified conditions. Thus, preserving the network of species interactions in seagrass ecosystems may help to minimize the impacts of ocean acidification in near-future oceans.

Macroalgal-bacterial interactions: identification and role of thallusin in morphogenesis of the seaweed Ulva (Chlorophyta).

Macroalgal microbiomes have core functions related to biofilm formation, growth, and morphogenesis of seaweeds. In particular, the growth and development of the sea lettuce Ulva spp. (Chlorophyta) depend on bacteria releasing morphogenetic compounds. Under axenic conditions, the macroalga Ulva mutabilis develops a callus-like phenotype with cell wall protrusions. However, co-culturing with Roseovarius sp. (MS2) and Maribacter sp. (MS6), which produce various stimulatory chemical mediators, completely recovers morphogenesis. This ecological reconstruction forms a tripartite community which can be further studied for its role in cross-kingdom interactions. Hence, our study sought to identify algal growth- and morphogenesis-promoting factors (AGMPFs) capable of phenocopying the activity of Maribacter spp. We performed bioassay-guided solid-phase extraction in water samples collected from U. mutabilis aquaculture systems. We uncovered novel ecophysiological functions of thallusin, a sesquiterpenoid morphogen, identified for the first time in algal aquaculture. Thallusin, released by Maribacter sp., induced rhizoid and cell wall formation at a concentration of 11 pmol l-1. We demonstrated that gametes acquired the iron complex of thallusin, thereby linking morphogenetic processes with intracellular iron homeostasis. Understanding macroalgae-bacteria interactions permits further elucidation of the evolution of multicellularity and cellular differentiation, and development of new applications in microbiome-mediated aquaculture systems.

Automated structure prediction of trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthase products.

Bacterial trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases (trans-AT PKSs) are among the most complex known enzymes from secondary metabolism and are responsible for the biosynthesis of highly diverse bioactive polyketides. However, most of these metabolites remain uncharacterized, since trans-AT PKSs frequently occur in poorly studied microbes and feature a remarkable array of non-canonical biosynthetic components with poorly understood functions. As a consequence, genome-guided natural product identification has been challenging. To enable de novo structural predictions for trans-AT PKS-derived polyketides, we developed the trans-AT PKS polyketide predictor (TransATor). TransATor is a versatile bio- and chemoinformatics web application that suggests informative chemical structures for even highly aberrant trans-AT PKS biosynthetic gene clusters, thus permitting hypothesis-based, targeted biotechnological discovery and biosynthetic studies. We demonstrate the applicative scope in several examples, including the characterization of new variants of bioactive natural products as well as structurally new polyketides from unusual bacterial sources.

Insights into the Evolution of Multicellularity from the Sea Lettuce Genome.

We report here the 98.5 Mbp haploid genome (12,924 protein coding genes) of Ulva mutabilis, a ubiquitous and iconic representative of the Ulvophyceae or green seaweeds. Ulva's rapid and abundant growth makes it a key contributor to coastal biogeochemical cycles; its role in marine sulfur cycles is particularly important because it produces high levels of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the main precursor of volatile dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Rapid growth makes Ulva attractive biomass feedstock but also increasingly a driver of nuisance "green tides." Ulvophytes are key to understanding the evolution of multicellularity in the green lineage, and Ulva morphogenesis is dependent on bacterial signals, making it an important species with which to study cross-kingdom communication. Our sequenced genome informs these aspects of ulvophyte cell biology, physiology, and ecology. Gene family expansions associated with multicellularity are distinct from those of freshwater algae. Candidate genes, including some that arose following horizontal gene transfer from chromalveolates, are present for the transport and metabolism of DMSP. The Ulva genome offers, therefore, new opportunities to understand coastal and marine ecosystems and the fundamental evolution of the green lineage.

Altered epiphyte community and sea urchin diet in Posidonia oceanica meadows in the vicinity of volcanic CO2 vents.

Ocean acidification (OA) predicted for 2100 is expected to shift seagrass epiphyte communities towards the dominance of more tolerant non-calcifying taxa. However, little is known about the indirect effects of such changes on food provision to key seagrass consumers. We found that epiphyte communities of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in two naturally acidified sites (i.e. north and south sides of a volcanic CO2 vent) and in a control site away from the vent at the Ischia Island (NW Mediterranean Sea) significantly differed in composition and abundance. Such differences involved a higher abundance of non-calcareous crustose brown algae and a decline of calcifying polychaetes in both acidified sites. A lower epiphytic abundance of crustose coralline algae occurred only in the south side of the vents, thus suggesting that OA may alter epiphyte assemblages in different ways due to interaction with local factors such as differential fish herbivory or hydrodynamics. The OA effects on food items (seagrass, epiphytes, and algae) indirectly propagated into food provision to the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, as reflected by a reduced P. oceanica exploitation (i.e. less seagrass and calcareous epiphytes in the diet) in favour of non-calcareous green algae in both vent sites. In contrast, we detected no difference close and outside the vents neither in the composition of sea urchin diet nor in the total abundance of calcareous versus non-calcareous taxa. More research, under realistic scenarios of predicted pH reduction (i.e. ≤ 0.32 units of pH by 2100), is still necessary to better understand cascading effects of this altered urchin exploitation of food resources under acidified conditions on ecosystem diversity and function.

Molecular Taxonomic Profiling of Bacterial Communities in a Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata) Hatchery.

As wild fish stocks decline worldwide, land-based fish rearing is likely to be of increasing relevance to feeding future human generations. Little is known about the structure and role of microbial communities in fish aquaculture, particularly at larval developmental stages where the fish microbiome develops and host animals are most susceptible to disease. We employed next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 16S rRNA gene reads amplified from total community DNA to reveal the structure of bacterial communities in a gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) larviculture system. Early- (2 days after hatching) and late-stage (34 days after hatching) fish larvae presented remarkably divergent bacterial consortia, with the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Marinomonas, Acinetobacter, and Acidocella (besides several unclassified Alphaproteobacteria) dominating the former, and Actinobacillus, Streptococcus, Massilia, Paracoccus, and Pseudomonas being prevalent in the latter. A significant reduction in rearing-water bacterial diversity was observed during the larviculture trial, characterized by higher abundance of the Cryomorphaceae family (Bacteroidetes), known to populate microniches with high organic load, in late-stage rearing water in comparison with early-stage rearing-water. Furthermore, we observed the recruitment, into host tissues, of several bacterial phylotypes-including putative pathogens as well as mutualists-that were detected at negligible densities in rearing-water or in the live feed (i.e., rotifers and artemia). These results suggest that, besides host-driven selective forces, both the live feed and the surrounding rearing environment contribute to shaping the microbiome of farmed gilthead sea-bream larvae, and that a differential establishment of host-associated bacteria takes place during larval development.

Draft Genome Sequence of Vibrio sp. Strain Evh12, a Bacterium Retrieved from the Gorgonian Coral Eunicella verrucosa.

To shed light on the associations established between Vibrio species and soft corals in coastal ecosystems, we report here the draft genome sequence of Vibrio sp. strain Evh12, a bacterium that has been isolated from the gorgonian coral Eunicella verrucosa and that shows antagonistic activity against Escherichia coli.

Draft Genome Sequence of Aliivibrio fischeri Strain 5LC, a Bacterium Retrieved from Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata) Larvae Reared in Aquaculture.

To shed light on the putative host-mediated lifestyle of the quintessential marine symbiont Aliivibrio fischeri, and on the symbiosis versus potentially pathogenic features of bacteria associated with farmed fish, we report the draft genome sequence of A. fischeri strain 5LC, a bacterium retrieved from gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) larvae.

Draft Genome Sequence of Vibrio sp. Strain Vb278, an Antagonistic Bacterium Isolated from the Marine Sponge Sarcotragus spinosulus.

We report here the draft genome sequence of Vibrio sp. Vb278, a biofilm-producing strain isolated from the marine sponge Sarcotragus spinosulus, showing in vitro antibacterial activity. The annotated genome displays a range of symbiotic factors and the potential for the biosynthesis of several biologically active natural products.