Actinobacteria diversity associated with sponge Amorphinopsis exacavans from Rancabuaya Beach, Garut, Indonesia
Yoice Srikandace (a,b)*, Yatri Hapsari (c) , and Dian Andriani (d)

a) Doctoral Program of Biology, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha No.10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
b) Research Center for Environmental and Clean Technology - National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Cisitu No. 21/154D, Bandung, West Java 40135, Indonesia
c) Research Center for Vaccine and Drugs - National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong Science Center, Jl. Raya Bogor Km. 46, Bogor, Indonesia
d) Research Center for Applied Microbiology - National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong Science Center, Jl. Raya Bogor Km. 46, Bogor, Indonesia

Abstract

Sponges are complex marine organisms known for their symbiotic relationships with various bacterial communities, which play structural and functional roles within the sponge holobiont. Actinobacteria have received much attention because of their potential pharmaceutical applications. This study examines Amorphinopsis excavans profile, distinguishing between endosymbionts and ectosymbionts. The microbial grouping was characterized using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) anchored to the 16S rRNA marker. The results showed that at the phylum level, both the endosymbiont and ectosymbiont communities were dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. The actinobacterial diversity index at the genus level in both communities was 2.77 and 3.11 which indicated moderate to high diversity without a dominant genus. They also revealed a high population type with an evenness index at the genus level of 0.81 and 0.89. Relative abundance revealed the three most prevalent genera in the endosymbiont community were Rothia, Thermoplyspora, and Thermomonospora. In contrast, Kocuria, Mycobacterium, and Bifidobacterium were the three most common genera of ectosymbionts. Leuconostoc citreum was the first species known to be associated with a sponge. This study is a developing metagenomic assessment of actinobacterial diversity in A. excavans, providing novel insights into the sponge^s complex microbial ecosystem.

Keywords: actinobacteria, Amorphinopsis excavans, symbionts, metagenomic, NGS

Topic: Marine Resources, and Conservation