Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

dc.contributor.authorZhang, Fan
dc.contributor.authorBlasiak, Leah C.
dc.contributor.authorKarolin, Jan
dc.contributor.authorPowell, Ryan J.
dc.contributor.authorGeddes, Chris
dc.contributor.authorHill, Russell T.
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-01T18:05:28Z
dc.date.available2024-10-01T18:05:28Z
dc.date.issued2015-04-07
dc.description.abstractMarine sponges are major habitat-forming organisms in coastal benthic communities and have an ancient origin in evolution history. Here, we report significant accumulation of polyphosphate (polyP) granules in three common sponge species of the Caribbean coral reef. The identity of the polyP granules was confirmed by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and by the fluorescence properties of the granules. Microscopy images revealed that a large proportion of microbial cells associated with sponge hosts contained intracellular polyP granules. Cyanobacterial symbionts cultured from sponges were shown to accumulate polyP. We also amplified polyphosphate kinase (ppk) genes from sponge DNA and confirmed that the gene was expressed. Based on these findings, we propose here a potentially important phosphorus (P) sequestration pathway through symbiotic microorganisms of marine sponges. Considering the widespread sponge population and abundant microbial cells associated with them, this pathway is likely to have a significant impact on the P cycle in benthic ecosystems.
dc.description.sponsorshipWe thank Jan Vicente and Jindong Zan for helping with sample collection in Key Largo, FL, and Joe Pawlik for providing a research cruise opportunity. We thank S. Nazar for sequencing support and J. Mauban (Department of Physiology, University of Maryland, Baltimore) for assisting with confocal microscopy. We acknowledge Dr. W. A. Chiou and J. P. Padilla (Maryland NanoCenter and NispLab) and Dr. L. Takacs (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) for their SEM-EDS analysis support. This research was funded by National Science Foundation Grant IOS-0919728 (to R.T.H.) and a Fulbright S&T fellowship (to F.Z.). This paper is University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science contribution no. 4985 and Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology contribution no. 15-142.
dc.description.urihttps://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1423768112
dc.format.extent6 pages
dc.genrejournal articles
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2eksw-xs3i
dc.identifier.citationZhang, Fan, Leah C. Blasiak, Jan O. Karolin, Ryan J. Powell, Chris D. Geddes, and Russell T. Hill. ‘Phosphorus Sequestration in the Form of Polyphosphate by Microbial Symbionts in Marine Sponges’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no. 14 (7 April 2015): 4381–86. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423768112.
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423768112
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/36577
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherPNAS
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Institute of Fluorescence (IoF)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Chemistry & Biochemistry Department
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.titlePhosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges
dc.typeText
dcterms.creatorhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9110-6374

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