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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2008, p. 1209-1222, Vol. 74, No. 4
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02047-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Changes in Bacterial Communities of the Marine Sponge Mycale laxissima on Transfer into Aquaculture ^,,

Naglaa M. Mohamed,¹ Julie J. Enticknap,^1,# Jayme E. Lohr,^1, Scott M. McIntosh,^1,2 and Russell T. Hill^1*

Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21202,¹ Hood College, Frederick, Maryland 21701²

Received 6 September 2007/ Accepted 14 December 2007

The changes in bacterial communities associated with the marine sponge Mycale laxissima on transfer to aquaculture were studied using culture-based and molecular techniques. M. laxissima was maintained alive in flowthrough and closed recirculating aquaculture systems for 2 years and 1 year, respectively. The bacterial communities associated with wild and aquacultured sponges, as well as the surrounding water, were assessed using 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Bacterial richness and diversity were measured using DOTUR computer software, and clone libraries were compared using S-LIBSHUFF. DGGE analysis revealed that the diversity of the bacterial community of M. laxissima increased when sponges were maintained in aquaculture and that bacterial communities associated with wild and aquacultured M. laxissima were markedly different than those of the corresponding surrounding water. Clone libraries of bacterial 16S rRNA from sponges confirmed that the bacterial communities changed during aquaculture. These communities were significantly different than those of seawater and aquarium water. The diversity of bacterial communities associated with M. laxissima increased significantly in aquaculture. Our work shows that it is important to monitor changes in bacterial communities when examining the feasibility of growing sponges in aquaculture systems because these communities may change. This could have implications for the health of sponges or for the production of bioactive compounds by sponges in cases where these compounds are produced by symbiotic bacteria rather than by the sponges themselves.

Published ahead of print on 21 December 2007.

Contribution no. 06148 from the Center of Marine Biotechnology.

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

^# Present address: Centro de Investigación Básica (CIBE), Merck Sharp and Dohme de España S.A., Josefa Valcárcel 38, 28027 Madrid, Spain.

Present address: Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, United Kingdom.

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