Microbiota associated with meiofaunal nemerteans reveals evidence of
phylosymbiosis
- Francesca Leasi,
- Ester Eckert,
- Jon Norenburg,
- W Kelley Thomas,
- Joseph Sevigny,
- Jeff Hall,
- Herman Wirshing,
- Diego Fontaneto
Ester Eckert
Water Research Institute National Research Council Verbania Branch
Author ProfileJon Norenburg
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Author ProfileHerman Wirshing
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Author ProfileAbstract
Phylosymbiosis, the association between the phylogenetic relatedness of
hosts and the composition of their microbial communities, is a
widespread phenomenon in diverse animal taxa. However, the generality of
the existence of such a pattern has been questioned, and there seems
evidence against its occurrence in small-sized aquatic animals, for
which the microbiota composition is mostly shaped by local environmental
factors. This study aims to investigate the microbial communities
associated with poorly known marine interstitial nemerteans to uncover
their microbiota diversity and assess the occurrence of phylosymbiosis.
Through a comprehensive approach, specimens from various Central
American sites were analyzed using morphology-based taxonomy and
molecular techniques targeting the host 18S rRNA gene whereas their
microbial association was analyzed by targeting the prokaryotic 16S rRNA
gene. Phylogenetic and statistical analyses were conducted to examine
the potential effects of host nemertean taxa and sampling locations on
the host-associated microbial communities. The results provide
compelling evidence of phylosymbiosis in meiofaunal nemerteans,
emphasizing the significant impact of host genetic relatedness on
microbiome diversity also in small-sized animals. Additional research is
needed to fully unravel potential symbiotic relationships as well as the
complex mechanisms that govern the relationships between hosts and their
microbiota across various organisms and ecological settings. The
remarkable diversity of meiofaunal animals, spanning various animal
phyla with different lifestyles and inhabiting diverse ecosystems,
combined with the advancements in multi-omics approaches, offers a
promising avenue for comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary and
ecological interactions between hosts and their microbiota throughout
the animal tree of life.