Biofilm interactions-bacteria modulate sexual reproduction success of the diatom Seminavis robusta

Marine biofilms are complex multi-species communities where chemical signaling regulates a substantial share of interactions. The involved natural products represent targets for competition strategies by signal interference. Diatoms, that often dominate biofilms, rely on a complex pheromone system d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEMS microbiology ecology 2018-11, Vol.94 (11), p.1
Main Authors: Cirri, Emilio, Vyverman, Wim, Pohnert, Georg
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Auxospores
Bacteria
Bacteria - metabolism
Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
Biofilms
Diatoms
Diatoms - metabolism
Diatoms - physiology
Ecology
Environmental aspects
Interference
Metabolites
Microbial mats
Microbiological research
Microbiology
Natural products
Pheromones
Pheromones - metabolism
Physiological aspects
Reproduction
Reproduction (biology)
Seminavis robusta
Sexual reproduction
Species Specificity
Synchronism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Marine biofilms are complex multi-species communities where chemical signaling regulates a substantial share of interactions. The involved natural products represent targets for competition strategies by signal interference. Diatoms, that often dominate biofilms, rely on a complex pheromone system during sexual reproduction, involving synchronizing and attracting metabolites. The present study addresses the effect of bacteria on sexual reproduction of the model pennate diatom Seminavis robusta. We observe that sexual reproduction is most efficient under axenic conditions. Bacteria isolated from field collected biofilms modulate sexual reproduction in the algae. A species-specific effect on the diatom mating efficiency could be observed, with Maribactersp. and Marinobactersp. significantly reducing the sexual reproduction rate. Spent medium from these bacteria has the same effect, demonstrating that chemically mediated cross kingdom interactions take place. In contrast, proportion of auxospores. We further observed a lower concentration of the diatom attraction pheromone diproline in the presence of bacteria compared to axenic conditions. In agreement, the Seminavis-associated bacterial community as well as isolated bacterial strains degraded the pheromone over time. Our results highlight that the pheromone system of diatoms is subject to interference strategies of the associated bacterial community by modulation of the signal landscape.
ISSN:1574-6941
0168-6496
1574-6941
DOI:10.1093/femsec/fiy161