Distinct Bacterial Microbiomes in Sexual and Asexual Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand Freshwater Snail

Cristina Takacs-Vesbach; Kayla King; David Van Horn; Katelyn Larkin; Maurine Neiman

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161050

Back

Distinct Bacterial Microbiomes in Sexual and Asexual Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand Freshwater Snail

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Distinct Bacterial Microbiomes in Sexual and Asexual Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand Freshwater Snail

Cristina Takacs-Vesbach, Kayla King, David Van Horn, Katelyn Larkin and Maurine Neiman

PloS one, Vol.11(8), pp.e0161050-e0161050

2016

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161050

PMCID: PMC5001651

PMID: 27563725

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161050View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Different reproductive strategies and the transition to asexuality can be associated with microbial symbionts. Whether such a link exists within mollusks has never been evaluated. We took the first steps towards addressing this possibility by performing pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes associated with Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand freshwater snail. A diverse set of 60 tissue collections from P. antipodarum that were genetically and geographically distinct and either obligately sexual or asexual were included, which allowed us to evaluate whether reproductive mode was associated with a particular bacterial community. 2624 unique operational taxonomic units (OTU, 97% DNA similarity) were detected, which were distributed across ~30 phyla. While alpha diversity metrics varied little among individual samples, significant differences in bacterial community composition and structure were detected between sexual and asexual snails, as well as among snails from different lakes and genetic backgrounds. The mean dissimilarity of the bacterial communities between the sexual and asexual P. antipodarum was 90%, largely driven by the presence of Rickettsiales in sexual snails and Rhodobacter in asexual snails. Our study suggests that there might be a link between reproductive mode and the bacterial microbiome of P. antipodarum, though a causal connection requires additional study.

Animals

Bacteria - classification

Biodiversity

Female

Helix (Snails) - microbiology

Lakes

Male

Microbiota

Monte Carlo Method

New Zealand

Phylogeny

Reproduction, Asexual

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics

Symbiosis

Details

Title: Subtitle: Distinct Bacterial Microbiomes in Sexual and Asexual Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand Freshwater Snail
Creators: Cristina Takacs-Vesbach - Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
Kayla King - Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
David Van Horn - Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
Katelyn Larkin - Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
Maurine Neiman - Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.11(8), pp.e0161050-e0161050
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161050
PMID: 27563725
PMCID: PMC5001651
NLM abbreviation: PLoS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
eISSN: 1932-6203
Language: English
Date published: 2016
Academic Unit: Office Of The Provost; Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies; Biology
Record Identifier: 9984217532602771

Metrics

11 Record Views

26 Times Cited - Web of Science