Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Using the Open-Source MALDI TOF-MS IDBac Pipeline for Analysis of Microbial Protein and Specialized Metabolite Data
Published on: May 15, 2019
Combined genotyping, microbial diversity and metabolite profiling studies on farmed Mytilus spp. from Kiel Fjord
Caroline Utermann1, Delphine Parrot1, Corinna Breusing2,3
1GEOMAR Centre for Marine Biotechnology (GEOMAR-Biotech), Research Unit Marine Natural Products Chemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Am Kiel-Kanal 44, 24106, Kiel, Germany.
Abstract:
The blue mussel Mytilus is a popular food source with high economical value. Species of the M. edulis complex (M. edulis, M. galloprovincialis and M. trossulus) hybridise whenever their geographic ranges overlap posing difficulties to species discrimination, which is important for blue mussel aquaculture. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic structure of farmed blue mussels in Kiel Fjord. Microbial and metabolic profile patterns were studied to investigate a possible dependency on the genotype of the bivalves. Genotyping confirmed the complex genetic structure of the Baltic Sea hybrid zone and revealed an unexpected dominance of M. trossulus alleles being in contrast to the predominance of M. edulis alleles described for wild Baltic blue mussels. Culture-dependent and -independent microbial community analyses indicated the presence of a diverse Mytilus-associated microbiota, while an LC-MS/MS-based metabolome study identified 76 major compounds dominated by pigments, alkaloids and polyketides in the whole tissue extracts. Analysis of mussel microbiota and metabolome did not indicate genotypic dependence, but demonstrated high intraspecific variability of farmed mussel individuals. We hypothesise that individual differences in microbial and metabolite patterns may be caused by high individual plasticity and might be enhanced by e.g. nutritional condition, age and gender.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cell Diversity
Multicellular...
Diversity of Archaea II
Diversity of Protists I
Diversity of Protists II
Diversity of Archaea I
Diversity of Archaea III

