Diversity and Function of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Microbiome

Marine invertebrate microbiomes play important roles in various host and ecological processes. However, a mechanistic understanding of host-microbe interactions is so far only available for a handful of model organisms. Here, an integrated taxonomic and functional analysis of the microbiome of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, was performed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon profiling, shotgun metagenomics, and genome-scale metabolic reconstruction. A relatively low number of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were observed in oyster tissues compared to water samples, while high variability was observed across individual oysters and among different tissue types. Targeted metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiota led to further characterization of a dominant bacterial taxon, the class Mollicutes, which was captured by the reconstruction of a metagenome-assembled genome (MAG). Genome-scale metabolic reconstruction of the oyster Mollicutes MAG revealed a reduced set of metabolic functions and a high reliance on the uptake of host-derived nutrients. A chitin degradation and an arginine deiminase pathway were unique to the MAG as compared to other closely related Mycoplasma genomes, indicating a distinct mechanism of carbon and energy acquisition by the oyster- associated Mollicutes. A systematic reanalysis of public eastern oyster-derived microbiome data revealed the Mollicutes as a ubiquitous taxon among adult oysters despite their general absence in larvae and biodeposit samples, suggesting potential horizontal transmission via an unknown mechanism. IMPORTANCEDespite well-documented biological significance of invertebrate microbiomes, a detailed taxonomic and functional characterization is frequently missing from many non-model marine invertebrates. By using 16S rRNA gene-based community profiling, shotgun metagenomics, and genome-scale metabolic reconstruction, this study provides an integrated taxonomic and functional analysis of the microbiome of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Community profiling revealed a surprisingly low richness, as compared to surrounding seawater, and high variability among different tissue types and individuals. Reconstruction of a Mollicutes MAG enabled the phylogenomic positioning and functional characterization of the oyster-associated Mollicutes. Comparative analysis of the adult oyster gut, biodeposits, and oyster larvae samples indicated the potentially ubiquitous associations of the Mollicutes taxon with adult oysters. To the best of our knowledge, this study represented the first metagenomics derived functional inference of the eastern oyster microbiome. An integrated analytical procedure was developed for the functional characterization of microbiomes in other non-model host species.