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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2008, p. 4133-4143, Vol. 74, No. 13
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00454-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Monitoring Bacterial Diversity of the Marine Sponge Ircinia strobilina upon Transfer into Aquaculture ^,,

Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21202,¹ Department of Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology, Chemistry and Biochemistry and National Center for the Development of Natural Products, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi 38655,² National Centre for Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand³

Received 25 February 2008/ Accepted 28 April 2008

Marine sponges in the genus Ircinia are known to be good sources of secondary metabolites with biological activities. A major obstacle in the development of sponge-derived metabolites is the difficulty in ensuring an economic, sustainable supply of the metabolites. A promising strategy is the ex situ culture of sponges in closed or semiclosed aquaculture systems. In this study, the marine sponge Ircinia strobilina (order Dictyoceratida: family Irciniidae) was collected from the wild and maintained for a year in a recirculating aquaculture system. Microbiological and molecular community analyses were performed on freshly collected sponges and sponges maintained in aquaculture for 3 months and 9 months. Chemical analyses were performed on wild collected sponges and individuals maintained in aquaculture for 3 months and 1 year. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was used to assess the complexity of and to monitor changes in the microbial communities associated with I. strobilina. Culture-based and molecular techniques showed an increase in the Bacteroidetes and Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria components of the bacterial community in aquaculture. Populations affiliated with Beta- and Deltaproteobacteria, Clostridia, and Planctomycetes emerged in sponges maintained in aquaculture. The diversity of bacterial communities increased upon transfer into aquaculture.

Published ahead of print on 9 May 2008.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Contribution no. 06-143 from the Center of Marine Biotechnology.