Speaker
Description
Interactions between microbes and vertebrate host is hypothesized to be regulated through the mucus, therefore, host associated microbiomes will have genes to utilize the carbohydrates that are produced in the host mucus. Therefore, we quantified the carbohydrate (monosaccharide) composition of the mucus from four sharks and rays (Elasmobranchii) and investigate the genomic machinery of the microbiome. Elasmobranchii had low amounts of mucus and low proportion of carbohydrates (<10 %) compared with other marine organisms. Four key monosaccharides; glucose, glucosamine, galactose, and fucose, were identified in mucus samples. Hosts exhibited distinct, species-specific monosaccharide signatures. We identified key carbohydrate microbial genes from host and water microbiomes. Elasmobranch microbiomes had a higher relative abundance of carbon utilization genes compared to the water column microbiome and contained gene pathways for the utilization specific monosaccharides found in host mucus, suggesting that the host mucus was a regulator of the microbiome. Elasmobranch epidermal microbiomes had the genetic machinery required for detecting, transporting, and metabolizing monosaccharides and other carbohydrates present in the host mucus, demonstrating the selective nature of Elasmobranch epidermal mucus.
