The marine natural microbiome mediates physiological outcomes in host nematodes

Abstract

Nematodes are the most abundant metazoans in marine sediments, many of which are bacterivores, however how habitat bacteria effects physiological outcomes in marine nematodes remains largely unknown. Here, we used a Litoditis marina inbred line to assess how native bacteria modulates host nematode physiology. We characterized seasonal dynamic bacterial compositions in L. marina habitats, and examined the impacts of 448 habitat bacteria isolates on L. marina development, then focused on HQbiome with 73 native bacteria, of which we generated 72 whole genomes sequences. Unexpectedly, we found that the effects of marine native bacteria on the development of L. marina and its terrestrial relative Caenorhabditis elegans were significantly positively correlated. Next, we reconstructed bacterial metabolic networks and identified several bacterial metabolic pathways positively correlated with L. marina development (e.g., ubiquinol and heme b biosynthesis), while pyridoxal 5-phosphate biosynthesis pathway was negatively associated. Through single metabolite supplementation, we verified CoQ10, heme b, Acetyl-CoA, and acetaldehyde promoted L. marina development, while vitamin B6 attenuated growth. Notably, we found that only four development correlated metabolic pathways were shared between L. marina and C. elegans. Furthermore, we identified two bacterial metabolic pathways correlated with L. marina lifespan, while a distinct one in C. elegans. Strikingly, we found that glycerol supplementation significantly extended L. marina but not C. elegans longevity. Moreover, we comparatively demonstrated the distinct gut microbiota characteristics and their effects on L. marina and C. elegans physiology. Our integrative approach will provide a microbe-nematodes framework for microbiome mediated effects on host animal fitness.