A seasonal study on the microbiomes of Diploid vs. Triploid eastern oysters and their denitrification potential
Ashish Pathak,
Mario Marquez,
Paul Stothard,
Christian Chukwujindu,
Jian-Qiang Su,
Yanyan Zhou,
Xin-Yuan Zhou,
Charles H. Jagoe,
Ashvini Chauhan
Affiliations
Ashish Pathak
School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, 1515 S. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Mario Marquez
Texas Sea Grant College Program, 4115 TAMU Eller O&M 306, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Paul Stothard
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, General Services Bldg, Edmonton, AB 2-31 T6G 2H1, Canada
Christian Chukwujindu
Material & Energy Technology Department, Projects Development Institute, Emene Industrial Layout, Enugu-Nigeria 400104
Jian-Qiang Su
Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
Yanyan Zhou
Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
Xin-Yuan Zhou
Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Charles H. Jagoe
School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, 1515 S. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Ashvini Chauhan
School of the Environment, Florida A&M University, 1515 S. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Oyster reefs are hotspots of denitrification mediated removal of dissolved nitrogen (N), however, information on their denitrifier microbiota is scarce. Furthermore, in oyster aquaculture, triploids are often preferred over diploids, yet again, microbiome differences between oyster ploidies are unknown. To address these knowledge gaps, farmed diploid and triploid oysters were collected over an annual growth cycle and analyzed using shotgun metagenomics and quantitative microbial elemental cycling (QMEC) techniques. Regardless of ploidy, Psychrobacter genus was abundant, with positive correlations found for genes of central metabolism, DNA metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism. MAGs (metagenome-assembled genomes) yielded multiple Psychrobacter genomes harboring norB, narH, narI, and nirK denitrification genes, indicating their functional relevance within the eastern oysters. QMEC analysis indicated the predominance of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling genes, with no discernable patterns between ploidies. Among the N-cycling genes, the nosZII clade was overrepresented, suggesting its role in the eastern oyster’s N removal processes.
