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Diversity of bacterial communities in the plasmodia of myxomycetes

Shu Li1,2, Bao Qi1, Wan Wang1

  • 1Engineering Research Center of Chinese Ministry of Education for Edible and Medicinal Fungi, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China.

BMC Microbiology
|December 21, 2022
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

This study reveals that myxomycetes plasmodia host diverse bacterial communities, primarily dominated by Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. These slime molds appear to actively recruit specific gram-negative, aerobic bacteria from their environment.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Mycology
  • Eukaryotic Biology

Background:

  • Myxomycetes, a group of Amoebozoa eukaryotes, exhibit a unique life cycle with plasmodium and fruiting body stages.
  • Plasmodia, the vegetative stage of myxomycetes, are consistently associated with bacteria.
  • Limited information exists on bacterial diversity and composition within different myxomycete plasmodia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the bacterial diversity associated with plasmodia from six different myxomycete species.
  • To characterize the composition of these bacterial communities.
  • To explore the potential functions of plasmodia-associated bacterial communities.

Main Methods:

  • 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was employed to identify bacterial communities.
  • Bacterial communities were analyzed in plasmodia from six myxomycete species: Didymium iridis, Didymium squamulosum, Diderma hemisphaericum, Lepidoderma tigrinum, Fuligo leviderma, and Physarum melleum.

Main Results:

  • Six myxomycete plasmodia harbored 38 to 52 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across 7 phyla, 16 classes, 23 orders, 40 families, and 53 genera.
  • Dominant bacterial phyla identified were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria.
  • While most bacterial OTUs were shared across the studied myxomycetes, unique bacteria constituted a small proportion of the total OTUs.

Conclusions:

  • Despite variations in bacterial community composition among myxomycete plasmodia, functional composition remained highly similar.
  • Plasmodia showed a significant enrichment of gram-negative (> 90%) and aerobic (> 99%) bacteria.
  • These findings suggest that myxomycetes may actively recruit specific types of bacteria from their surroundings.
Keywords:
16S rRNAAmplicon sequencingBacteriaSlime mold

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