Rhodobacteraceae
are key players in microbiome assembly of the diatom
Asterionellopsis glacialis
Authors: Isaac Ashley , Mohamed Amin R. , Amin Shady A. 
Published: May 2024

The complex interactions between bacterioplankton and phytoplankton have prompted numerous studies that investigate phytoplankton microbiomes with the aim of characterizing beneficial or opportunistic taxa and elucidating core bacterial members. Oftentimes, this knowledge is garnered through 16S rRNA gene profiling of microbiomes from phytoplankton isolated across spatial and temporal scales, yet these studies do not offer insight into microbiome assembly and structuring. In this study, we aimed to identify taxa central to structuring and establishing the microbiome of the ubiquitous diatom
Asterionellopsis glacialis
. We introduced a diverse environmental bacterial community to
A. glacialis
in nutrient-rich or nutrient-poor media in a continuous dilution culture setup and profiled the bacterial community over 7 days. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing showed that cyanobacteria (
Coleofasciculaceae
) and
Rhodobacteraceae
dominate the microbiome early on and maintain a persistent association throughout the experiment. Differential abundance, co-abundance networks, and differential association analyses revealed that specific members of the family
Rhodobacteraceae
, particularly
Sulfitobacter
amplicon sequence variants, become integral members in microbiome assembly. In the presence of the diatom,
Sulfitobacter
species and other
Rhodobacteraceae
developed positive associations with taxa that are typically in high abundance in marine ecosystems (
Pelagibacter
and
Synechococcus
), leading to restructuring of the microbiome compared to diatom-free controls. These positive associations developed predominantly under oligotrophic conditions, highlighting the importance of investigating phytoplankton microbiomes in as close to natural conditions as possible to avoid biases that develop under routine laboratory conditions. These findings offer further insight into phytoplankton–bacteria interactions and illustrate the importance of
Rhodobacteraceae
, not merely as phytoplankton symbionts but as key taxa involved in microbiome assembly.

IMPORTANCE

Most, if not all, microeukaryotic organisms harbor an associated microbial community, termed the microbiome. The microscale interactions that occur between these partners have global-scale consequences, influencing marine primary productivity, carbon cycling, and harmful algal blooms to name but a few. Over the last decade, there has been a growing interest in the study of phytoplankton microbiomes, particularly within the context of bloom dynamics. However, long-standing questions remain regarding the process of phytoplankton microbiome assembly. The significance of our research is to tease apart the mechanism of microbiome assembly with a particular focus on identifying bacterial taxa, which may not merely be symbionts but architects of the phytoplankton microbiome. Our results strengthen the understanding of the ecological mechanisms that underpin phytoplankton–bacteria interactions in order to accurately predict marine ecosystem responses to environmental perturbations.