Impact of Phaeobacter inhibens on marine eukaryote-associated microbial communities

Bacteria-host interactions are universal in nature and have significant effects on host functionality. Bacterial secondary metabolites are believed to play key roles in such interactions as well as in interactions within the host-associated microbial community. Hence, prominent secondary metabolite-producing bacteria may be strong drivers of microbial community composition in natural host-associated microbiomes.

This has however not been rigorously tested, and the purpose of this study was to investigate how the secondary metabolite producer Phaeobacter inhibens affects the diversity and composition of microbiomes associated with the microalga Emiliania huxleyi and the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis. Roseobacters were indigenous to both communities exhibiting relative abundances between 2.8 % and 7.0 %.

Addition of P. inhibens caused substantial changes in the overall structure of the low-complexity microbiome of E. huxleyi, but did not shape microbial community structure to the same degree in the more complex oyster microbiomes. Species-specific interactions occurred in both microbiomes and specifically the abundances of other putative secondary metabolite-producers such as vibrios and pseudoalteromonads were reduced.

Thus, the impact of a bioactive strain like P. inhibens on host-associated microbiomes depends on the complexity and composition of the existing microbiome. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.