Microbial diversity associated with ascidians a r

Authors: Lei Chen Changming Fu Guangyu Wang

Publish Date: 2016/03/16

Volume: 71, Issue: 1, Pages: 19-26

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Abstract

This paper reviews research in microbial diversity associated with ascidians commonly known as sea squirts The application of culturedependent and cultureindependent techniques is introduced in detail and these methods are analyzed for their advantages and limitations Because of the limitations of available media and cultivation conditions culturedependent methods can only reveal a limited portion of the microorganisms in ascidians However the acquisition of typical microbial community members in culture remains a valuable resource for exploring their bioactive potential and relationships with the ascidian hosts The application of metagenomic library methods has greatly accelerated ascidian metabolites studies The nextgeneration sequencing techniques have led to the acquisition of an unprecedented quantity of ascidian microorganism data providing the most comprehensive information about ascidian microbial diversity Ascidians provide unique ecological niches that harbor an unexpected diversity of microorganisms different from planktonic bacteria in the local seawater Microbial communities associated with ascidians tend to be speciesspecific and tissuespecific Different tissue of the same ascidian may be associated with different microbial communitiesThis work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China No 31300009 Natural Scientific Research Innovation Foundation in Harbin Institute of Technology No HIT NSRIF 2014127 and Discipline Construction Guide Foundation in Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai No WH20150204

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