
A new study provides insights into the prokaryotic communities and heavy metal distribution in different body parts of the marine sponge Chondrosia reniformis, a model organism relevant for marine conservation and biotechnology. The study was published in Zoology and results from an international collaboration between researchers from iBB-IST and the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy. The work was led by Italian PhD student Camilla Roveta and Prof. Rodrigo Costa from BSRG-iBB/DBE and included MIT Portugal PhD student Joana F. Couceiro from BSRG-iBB. Fifteen prokaryotic phyla were detected in association with this sponge. Three lineages of ammonium-oxidizing organisms co-dominated the prokaryotic community, suggesting ammonium oxidation/nitrification as key metabolic pathway within the C. reniformis microbiome. Mercury levels varied according to the body site of the sponge, with higher levels accumulating in internal sites (choanosome). Minor levels of Hg could be detected in the microbial fractions extracted from the sponge host, suggesting that the sponge-associated microbiome may participate in Hg adsorption and removal processes in benthic ecosystems. This study paves the way for scientists to deepen the possible application of marine sponges not only as bioindicators of environmental health, but also as bioremediation tools of metal polluted environments.
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