Biodiversity, environmental drivers, and sustainability of the global deep-sea sponge microbiome

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  • Kathrin Busch
    GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
  • Beate M. Slaby
    GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
  • Wolfgang Bach
    University of Bremen
  • Antje Boetius
    University of Bremen
  • Ina Clefsen
    GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
  • Ana Colaço
    University of the Açores, Portugal
  • Marie Creemers
    University of the Açores, Portugal
  • Javier Cristobo
    IEO-CSIC-Spanish Oceanographic Institute, Gijon
  • Luisa Federwisch
    AWI-Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
  • Andre Franke
    Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB), Kiel.
  • Asimenia Gavriilidou
    Wageningen University
  • Andrea Hethke
    GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
  • Ellen Kenchington
    Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
  • Furu Mienis
    NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
  • Sadie Mills
    NIWA-National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
  • Ana Riesgo
    MNCN-National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid
  • Pilar Ríos
    IEO-CSIC-Spanish Oceanographic Institute, Gijon
  • Emyr Martyn Roberts
  • Detmer Sipkema
    Wageningen University
  • Lucía Pita
    GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
  • Peter J. Schupp
    University of Oldenburg
  • Joana Xavier
    University of Bergen
  • Hans Tore Rapp
    University of Bergen
  • Ute Hentschel
    GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
In the deep ocean symbioses between microbes and invertebrates are emerging as key drivers of ecosystem health and services. We present a large-scale analysis of microbial diversity in deep-sea sponges (Porifera) from scales of sponge individuals to ocean basins, covering 52 locations, 1077 host individuals translating into 169 sponge species (including understudied glass sponges), and 469 reference samples, collected anew during 21 ship-based expeditions. We demonstrate the impacts of the sponge microbial abundance status, geographic distance, sponge phylogeny, and the physical-biogeochemical environment as drivers of microbiome composition, in descending order of relevance. Our study further discloses that fundamental concepts of sponge microbiology apply robustly to sponges from the deep-sea across distances of >10,000 km. Deep-sea sponge microbiomes are less complex, yet more heterogeneous, than their shallow-water counterparts. Our analysis underscores the uniqueness of each deep-sea sponge ground based on which we provide critical knowledge for conservation of these vulnerable ecosystems.
Original languageEnglish
Article number5160
JournalNature Communications
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Sept 2022

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