Fungi found in Mediterranean and North Sea sponges: how specific are they?

Mohamad, Mohd Azrul Naim and Smidt, Hauke and Sipkema, Detmer (2017) Fungi found in Mediterranean and North Sea sponges: how specific are they? PeerJ, 2017 (9). pp. 1-19. ISSN 2167-8359

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Abstract

Fungi and other eukaryotes represent one of the last frontiers of microbial diversity in the sponge holobiont. In this study we employed pyrosequencing of 18S ribosomal RNA gene amplicons containing the V7 and V8 hypervariable regions to explore the fungal diversity of seven sponge species from the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. For most sponges, fungi were present at a low relative abundance averaging 0.75% of the 18S rRNA gene reads. In total, 44 fungal OTUs (operational taxonomic units) were detected in sponges, and 28 of these OTUs were also found in seawater. Twenty-two of the sponge-associated OTUs were identified as yeasts (mainly Malasseziales), representing 84% of the fungal reads. Several OTUs were related to fungal sequences previously retrieved from other sponges, but all OTUs were also related to fungi from other biological sources, such as seawater, sediments, lakes and anaerobic digesters. Therefore our data, supported by currently available data, point in the direction of mostly accidental presence of fungi in sponges and do not support the existence of a sponge-specific fungal community.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	7319/60310
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Marine sponge, Fungi, Yeast, Malasseziales, Symbiosis
Subjects:	Q Science > QR Microbiology
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Science Kulliyyah of Science > Department of Biomedical Science Kulliyyah of Science > Department of Biotechnology
Depositing User:	Dr Mohd Azrul Naim Mohamad
Date Deposited:	27 Dec 2017 11:04
Last Modified:	27 Apr 2018 16:38
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/60310

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