Sokratis Papaspyrou

Abdominal setae and midgut bacteria of the mudshrimp Pestarella tyrrhena

We investigated the diversity of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes occurring on the abdominal setal tufts and in the emptied midgut of the marine mudshrimp Pestarella tyrrhena (Decapoda: Thalassinidea). There were no dominant phylotypes on the setal tufts. The majority of the phylotypes belonged to the phylum Bacteroidetes, frequently occurring in the water column. The rest of the phylotypes were related to anoxygenic photosynthetic α-Proteobacteria and to Actinobacteria. This bacterial profile seems more of a marine assemblage rather than a specific one suggesting that no specific microbial process can be inferred on the setal tufts. In the emptied midgut, 64 clones were attributed to 16 unique phylotypes with the majority (40.6%) belonging to the γ-Proteobacteria, specifically to the genus Vibrio, a marine group with known symbionts of decapods. The next most abundant group was the ɛ-Proteobacteria (28.1%), with members as likely symbionts related to the processes involving redox reactions occurring in the midgut. In addition, phylotypes related to the Spirochaetes (10.9%) were also present, with relatives capable of symbiosis conducting a nitrite associated metabolism. Entomoplasmatales, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria related phylotypes were also found. These results indicate a specific bacterial community dominated by putative symbiotic Bacteria within the P. tyrrhena’s midgut.