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Sediment microbial assemblage structure is modified by marine polychaete gut passage

Sediment microbial assemblage structure is modified by marine polychaete gut passage
Sediment microbial assemblage structure is modified by marine polychaete gut passage
Invertebrate activities in sediments, predominantly the redistribution of particles and porewater, are well-known to regulate the structure of associated microbial assemblages; however, relatively little attention has been given to the effects of sediment ingestion, gut passage and excretion by deposit-feeding invertebrates. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR to examine how passage through the gut of the marine polychaete Hediste diversicolor affects the structure of bacterial and archaeal assemblages and the abundance of nitrogen cycling taxa. We show that the digestive tract of H. diversicolor contains unique transitory microbial assemblages that, during gut passage, become more like the surrounding sediment assemblages. Enrichment of similar microbial taxa in both the hindgut and the burrow wall suggest that these transitory gut assemblages may influence the composition of the local sediment community. The hindgut of H. diversicolor also forms a reservoir for unique ammonia-oxidising archaeal taxa. Furthermore, distinct microbial assemblages on external polychaete surfaces suggest that deposit-feeding invertebrates act as vectors that transport microbes between sediment patches. Collectively, these findings suggest that the passage of sediment and associated microbial assemblages through the gut of deposit feeding invertebrates is likely to play a significant role in regulating sediment microbial assemblages and biogeochemical functioning.
invertebrate–microbe interactions, microbiome, nitrogen cycling, functional traits, ecosystem functioning
0168-6496
Dale, Harriet
60d254f3-0139-4394-9af8-7c72d2f2b869
Solan, Martin
c28b294a-1db6-4677-8eab-bd8d6221fecf
Lam, Phyllis
996aef80-a15d-4827-aed8-1b97b378f6ad
Cunliffe, Michael
ceabbc1b-009e-480d-b111-52ad6592855b
Dale, Harriet
60d254f3-0139-4394-9af8-7c72d2f2b869
Solan, Martin
c28b294a-1db6-4677-8eab-bd8d6221fecf
Lam, Phyllis
996aef80-a15d-4827-aed8-1b97b378f6ad
Cunliffe, Michael
ceabbc1b-009e-480d-b111-52ad6592855b

Dale, Harriet, Solan, Martin, Lam, Phyllis and Cunliffe, Michael (2019) Sediment microbial assemblage structure is modified by marine polychaete gut passage. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 95 (5). (doi:10.1093/femsec/fiz047).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Invertebrate activities in sediments, predominantly the redistribution of particles and porewater, are well-known to regulate the structure of associated microbial assemblages; however, relatively little attention has been given to the effects of sediment ingestion, gut passage and excretion by deposit-feeding invertebrates. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR to examine how passage through the gut of the marine polychaete Hediste diversicolor affects the structure of bacterial and archaeal assemblages and the abundance of nitrogen cycling taxa. We show that the digestive tract of H. diversicolor contains unique transitory microbial assemblages that, during gut passage, become more like the surrounding sediment assemblages. Enrichment of similar microbial taxa in both the hindgut and the burrow wall suggest that these transitory gut assemblages may influence the composition of the local sediment community. The hindgut of H. diversicolor also forms a reservoir for unique ammonia-oxidising archaeal taxa. Furthermore, distinct microbial assemblages on external polychaete surfaces suggest that deposit-feeding invertebrates act as vectors that transport microbes between sediment patches. Collectively, these findings suggest that the passage of sediment and associated microbial assemblages through the gut of deposit feeding invertebrates is likely to play a significant role in regulating sediment microbial assemblages and biogeochemical functioning.

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Accepted/In Press date: 2 April 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 April 2019
Published date: May 2019
Keywords: invertebrate–microbe interactions, microbiome, nitrogen cycling, functional traits, ecosystem functioning

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 431067
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431067
ISSN: 0168-6496
PURE UUID: b52da5e7-6e09-4440-b8f8-14d202aed875
ORCID for Martin Solan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9924-5574
ORCID for Phyllis Lam: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2067-171X

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Date deposited: 22 May 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:49

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Contributors

Author: Harriet Dale
Author: Martin Solan ORCID iD
Author: Phyllis Lam ORCID iD
Author: Michael Cunliffe

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