In this section
@article{Goffredi:2023:10.1128/mbio.03140-22,
author = {Goffredi, SK and Panossian, B and Brzechffa, C and Field, N and King, C and Moggioli, G and Rouse, GW and Martín-Durán, JM and Henry, LM},
doi = {10.1128/mbio.03140-22},
journal = {mBio},
title = {A dynamic epibiont community associated with the bone-eating polychaete genus <i>Osedax</i>},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03140-22},
year = {2023}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Osedax,</jats:italic> the deep-sea annelid found at sunken whalefalls, is known to host Oceanospirillales bacterial endosymbionts intracellularly in specialized roots, which help it feed exclusively on vertebrate bones. Past studies, however, have also made mention of external bacteria on their trunks. During a 14-yr study, we reveal a dynamic, yet persistent, shift of Campylobacterales integrated into the epidermis of <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> , which change over time as the whale carcass degrades on the sea floor. The Campylobacterales associated with seven species of <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> , which comprise 67% of the bacterial community on the trunk, appear initially dominated by the genus <jats:italic>Arcobacter</jats:italic> (at early time points <24 mo), the <jats:italic>Sulfurospirillum</jats:italic> at intermediate stages (~50 mo), and the <jats:italic>Sulfurimonas</jats:italic> at later stages (>140 mo) of whale carcass decomposition. Metagenome analysis of the epibiont metabolic capabilities suggests potential for a transition from heterotrophy to autotrophy and differences in their capacity to metabolize oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Compared to free-living relatives, the <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> epibiont genomes were enriched in transposable elements, implicating genetic exchange on the host surface, and contained numerous secretions systems with eukaryotic-like protein (ELP) domains, suggesting a long evolutionary history with these enigmatic, yet widely distributed deep-sea worms. </jats:p> <jats:sec> <jats:title>IMPORTANCE</jats:title>
AU - Goffredi,SK
AU - Panossian,B
AU - Brzechffa,C
AU - Field,N
AU - King,C
AU - Moggioli,G
AU - Rouse,GW
AU - Martín-Durán,JM
AU - Henry,LM
DO - 10.1128/mbio.03140-22
PY - 2023///
TI - A dynamic epibiont community associated with the bone-eating polychaete genus <i>Osedax</i>
T2 - mBio
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03140-22
UR - https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03140-22
ER -
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