Zooplankton-associated bacteria potentially have a great impact on the structure of ecosystems and trophic networks by providing various metabolic pathways and altering the ecological niche of host species. To understand the composition and drivers of zooplankton gut microbiota, we investigated the associated microbial communities of four zooplankton genera from different seasons in the Baltic Sea using the 16S rRNA gene.
Among the 143 ASVs (amplified sequence variants) observed belonging to heterotrophic bacteria, 28 ASVs were shared across all zooplankton hosts over the season, and these shared core ASVs represented more than 25% and up to 60% of relative abundance in zooplankton hosts but were present at low relative abundance in the filtered water. Zooplankton host identity had stronger effects on bacterial composition than seasonal variation, with the composition of gut bacterial communities showing host-specific clustering patterns. Our results suggest that the patterns of gut bacteria dynamics are host-specific and the variability of gut bacteria is not only related to host taxonomy but also related to host behavior and life history traits.
The study is available here: Xu, T., Novotny, A., Zamora-Terol, S., Hambäck, P., Winder, M. Dynamics of Gut Bacteria Across Different Zooplankton Genera in the Baltic Sea. Microb Ecol 87, 48 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-024-02362-7
Figure: Relative abundance of shared and core ASVs compared to water (inner ring). a Relative abundance of shared ASVs present in all zooplankton hosts across months at class level (outer rings) compared to water. b Relative abundance of core ASVs across months (outer ring) for each zooplankton host and their relative abundance in water samples (inner ring)
Winder Lab 