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Mock communities highlight the diversity of host-associated eukaryotes
1Departments of Botany and Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T1Z4.
Molecular Ecology
|August 28, 2015
Summary
Host-associated microbes are common in eukaryotes. New research shows many soil eukaryotes detected by sequencing are linked to animal hosts, not free-living, impacting our understanding of microbial ecology.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Eukaryotic Genomics
- Environmental Sequencing
Background:
- Host-associated microbes are ubiquitous across eukaryotes, influencing host biology and evolution.
- While bacteria are well-studied, eukaryotic microbes (protists) are increasingly recognized as key components of host-associated communities.
- High-throughput sequencing (HTS) reveals a significant proportion of eukaryotic sequences in environmental samples are host-associated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the origin of diverse eukaryotic lineages detected in soil microbial communities.
- To determine if these detected eukaryotes are free-living or associated with hosts.
- To explain the high prevalence of parasitic eukaryotic lineages in soil studies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized mock communities to analyze eukaryotic sequences from soil samples.
- Isolated the host-associated fraction of soil microbial communities.
- Applied high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for eukaryotic diversity assessment.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that many soil eukaryotes detected via environmental sequencing are associated with animal hosts.
- Provided evidence that these host-associated eukaryotes are not predominantly free-living.
- Explained the high diversity of parasitic eukaryotic lineages found in terrestrial environments.
Conclusions:
- Host-associated eukaryotes are a significant and often overlooked component of soil microbial communities.
- Future studies must account for host association when analyzing environmental sequencing data.
- Understanding host-associated eukaryotes is crucial for microbial ecology, disease ecology, and community assembly research.
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