Genetic and phylogenetic evidence for horizontal gene transfer among ecologically disparate groups of marine Vibrio

Abstract

Vibrio represents a diverse bacterial genus found in different niches of the marine environment, including numerous genera of marine sponges (phylum Porifera), inhabiting different depths and regions of benthic seas, that are potentially important in driving adaptive change among Vibrio spp. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, a previous study showed that sponge‐derived (SD) vibrios clustered with their mainstream counterparts present in shallow, coastal ecosystems, suggesting a genetic relatedness between these populations. Sequences from the topA, ftsZ, mreB, rpoD, rctB and toxR genes were used to investigate the degree of relatedness existing between these two separate populations by examining their phylogenetic and genetic disparity. Phylogenies were constructed from the concatenated sequences of the six housekeeping genes using maximum‐parsimony, maximum‐likelihood and neighbour‐joining algorithms. Genetic recombination was evaluated using the incongruence length difference test, Split decomposition and measuring overall compatibility of sites. This combined technical approach provided evidence that SD Vibrio strains are largely genetically homologous to their shallow‐water counterparts. Moreover, the analyses conducted support the existence of extensive horizontal gene transfer between these two groups, supporting the idea of a single panmictic population structure among vibrios from two seemingly distinct, marine environments.

Unique and conserved genome regions in Vibrio harveyi and related species in comparison with the shrimp pathogen Vibrio harveyi CAIM 1792

“…MLSA has been proposed as a valuable technique for the identification and classification of vibrio (Hoffmann et al, 2013;Pascual et al, 2010;Sawabe et al, 2013) and for V. harveyi-like species Lin et al, 2010;Rivera-Posada et al, 2011;Thompson et al, 2007). A dendrogram with concatenated sequences (Fig.…”

“…Many vibrios have two types of flagellum: one polar flagellum which is produced under liquid conditions and several lateral flagella that are produced in more viscous environments. Within this genus, one of the main groups of species is the Harveyi clade, which contains Vibrio alginolyticus, V. azureus, V. campbellii, V. harveyi, V. jasicida, V. mytili, V. natriegens, V. owensii, V. rotiferianus, V. parahaemolyticus and V. sagamiensis Hoffmann et al, 2013;Sawabe et al, 2007;Yoshizawa et al, 2009). The clade includes important opportunistic pathogens of cultured aquatic organisms and strains of medical relevance (Lin et al, 2010;Thompson et al, 2004).…”

Evidence of Unique and Generalist Microbes in Distantly Related Sympatric Intertidal Marine Sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae)

“…The high affinity of vibrios from the intertidal (shallow) marine sponges with benthic SD vibrios from Leiodermatium sp. and Scleritoderma cyanea , collected at a depth of 630 m and 364 m from globally distinct locations [49] , demonstrates the ubiquity of Vibrios among the sponge hosts. The higher incidence of Vibrio sp.…”