Relationship between genetic, chemical, and bacterial diversity in the Atlanto-Mediterranean bath sponge Spongia lamella

Abstract

Does diversity beget diversity? Diversity includes a diversity of concepts because it is linked to variability in and of life and can be applied to multiple levels. The connections between multiple levels of diversity are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relationships between genetic, bacterial, and chemical diversity of the endangered Atlanto-Mediterranean sponge Spongia lamella. These levels of diversity are intrinsically related to sponge evolution and could have strong conservation implications. We used microsatellite markers, denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and high performance liquid chromatography to quantify genetic, bacterial, and chemical diversity of nine sponge populations. We then used correlations to test whether these diversity levels covaried. We found that sponge populations differed significantly in genetic, bacterial, and chemical diversity. We also found a strong geographic pattern of increasing genetic, bacterial, and chemical dissimilarity with increasing geographic distance between populations. However, we failed to detect significant correlations between the three levels of diversity investigated in our study. Our results suggest that diversity fails to beget diversity within a single species and indicates that a diversity of factors regulates a diversity of diversities, which highlights the complex nature of the mechanisms behind diversity.

Metabolome variability for two Mediterranean sponge species of the genus Haliclona: specificity, time, and space

“…In this study, we observed metabolomic differences between sampling sites, which were not dependent on the geographic scale studied (10 km compared to > 100 km). However, the spatial scale studied remains considerably small, and thus larger geographical scales should be studied to assess distance decay in chemical fingerprint similarities (Noyer and Becerro 2012;Noyer et al 2011). Other factors that could participate to spatial variations are biotic interactions (De Caralt et al 2013) and the variable part of the sponge metabolome (Borchert et al 2016;Schmitt et al 2012).…”

Sponge Ecology in the Molecular Era

“…In the Mediterranean populations of the introduced calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna, clonality was found to be almost inexistent (C asex = 1.5%, Guardiola et al, 2011). No clonality was reported in the genetic studies of the Mediterranean bath sponges S. officinalis (Dailianis et al, 2011) and S. lamella (= S. agaricina ) (Noyer, 2010), which is accordance with the lack of asexual buds and the unbreakable (elastic) consistence of the two species, which makes fragmentation unlikely.…”

“…The population genetics of two emblematic Mediterranean bath sponges has been studied recently by microsatellites. Seven populations along the western Mediterranean and the Portugal coasts of Spongia lamella were analyzed by using seven microsatellite loci (Noyer, 2010). Inbreeding was the main characteristic for all loci and populations, which was attributed to mating among relatives or to the existence of breeding subunits within populations.…”

“…The microsatellite markers developed for sponges have allowed a number of recent studies at the intra-and interpopulation level, uncovering patterns of genetic structure at several scales, and allowing the study of clonality and chimerism (Blanquer et al, 2009;Uriz, 2010, 2011;Calderón et al, 2007;Dailianis et al, 2011;Duran et al, 2004c, Guardiola et al, 2011Hoshino et al, 2008;Noyer, 2010). Doubtlessly, in recent years the application of microsatellites has revitalized the field of sponge molecular ecology.…”

Secondary Metabolites of Marine Microbes: From Natural Products Chemistry to Chemical Ecology

“…The authors suggested that these variations may have been due to both genetic and environmental factors. A further study on S. lamella revealed that the populations from the five regions (Portugal, Gibraltar, Baleares, Catalonia, and South France) significantly differed within their genetic and chemical diversity as well as their associated bacteria (Noyer and Becerro 2012). Similarly, Rohde et al (2012) found different metabolites and compound concentrations in the tropical sponge Stylissa massa across different ocean basins and within sites.…”