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Anaerobic breviate protist survival in microcosms depends on microbiome metabolic function

Aguilera-Campos, Karla Iveth LU orcid ; Boisard, Julie LU orcid ; Törnblom, Viktor LU ; Jerlström-Hultqvist, Jon ; Behncké-Serra, Ada LU orcid ; Cotillas, Elena Aramendia LU and Stairs, Courtney Weir LU orcid (2025) In The Isme Journal
Abstract

Anoxic and hypoxic environments serve as habitats for diverse microorganisms, including unicellular eukaryotes (protists) and prokaryotes. To thrive in low-oxygen environments, protists and prokaryotes often establish specialized metabolic cross-feeding associations, such as syntrophy, with other microorganisms. Previous studies show that the breviate protist Lenisia limosa engages in a mutualistic association with a denitrifying Arcobacter bacterium based on hydrogen exchange. Here, we investigate if the ability to form metabolic interactions is conserved in other breviates by studying five diverse breviate microcosms and their associated bacteria. We show that five laboratory microcosms of marine breviates live with multiple... (More)

Anoxic and hypoxic environments serve as habitats for diverse microorganisms, including unicellular eukaryotes (protists) and prokaryotes. To thrive in low-oxygen environments, protists and prokaryotes often establish specialized metabolic cross-feeding associations, such as syntrophy, with other microorganisms. Previous studies show that the breviate protist Lenisia limosa engages in a mutualistic association with a denitrifying Arcobacter bacterium based on hydrogen exchange. Here, we investigate if the ability to form metabolic interactions is conserved in other breviates by studying five diverse breviate microcosms and their associated bacteria. We show that five laboratory microcosms of marine breviates live with multiple hydrogen-consuming prokaryotes that are predicted to have different preferences for terminal electron acceptors using genome-resolved metagenomics. Protist growth rates vary in response to electron acceptors depending on the make-up of the prokaryotic community. We find that the metabolic capabilities of the bacteria and not their taxonomic affiliations determine protist growth and survival and present new potential protist-interacting bacteria from the Arcobacteraceae, Desulfovibrionaceae, and Terasakiella lineages. This investigation uncovers potential nitrogen and sulfur cycling pathways within these bacterial populations, hinting at their roles in syntrophic interactions with the protists via hydrogen exchange.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
The Isme Journal
article number
wraf171
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:40795332
ISSN
1751-7362
DOI
10.1093/ismejo/wraf171
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Microbial Ecology.
id
a1865bcb-170a-4a8b-bf91-b44a31e2dc20
date added to LUP
2025-08-19 10:16:56
date last changed
2025-08-22 15:27:02
@article{a1865bcb-170a-4a8b-bf91-b44a31e2dc20,
  abstract     = {{<p>Anoxic and hypoxic environments serve as habitats for diverse microorganisms, including unicellular eukaryotes (protists) and prokaryotes. To thrive in low-oxygen environments, protists and prokaryotes often establish specialized metabolic cross-feeding associations, such as syntrophy, with other microorganisms. Previous studies show that the breviate protist Lenisia limosa engages in a mutualistic association with a denitrifying Arcobacter bacterium based on hydrogen exchange. Here, we investigate if the ability to form metabolic interactions is conserved in other breviates by studying five diverse breviate microcosms and their associated bacteria. We show that five laboratory microcosms of marine breviates live with multiple hydrogen-consuming prokaryotes that are predicted to have different preferences for terminal electron acceptors using genome-resolved metagenomics. Protist growth rates vary in response to electron acceptors depending on the make-up of the prokaryotic community. We find that the metabolic capabilities of the bacteria and not their taxonomic affiliations determine protist growth and survival and present new potential protist-interacting bacteria from the Arcobacteraceae, Desulfovibrionaceae, and Terasakiella lineages. This investigation uncovers potential nitrogen and sulfur cycling pathways within these bacterial populations, hinting at their roles in syntrophic interactions with the protists via hydrogen exchange.</p>}},
  author       = {{Aguilera-Campos, Karla Iveth and Boisard, Julie and Törnblom, Viktor and Jerlström-Hultqvist, Jon and Behncké-Serra, Ada and Cotillas, Elena Aramendia and Stairs, Courtney Weir}},
  issn         = {{1751-7362}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{The Isme Journal}},
  title        = {{Anaerobic breviate protist survival in microcosms depends on microbiome metabolic function}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wraf171}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/ismejo/wraf171}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}