Abstract
Sponges represent important habitats for a community of associated (micro)organisms. Even if sponges dominate vast areas of the Antarctic shelves, few investigations have been performed on Antarctic sponge-associated bacteria. Using a culture-dependent approach, the composition of the bacterial communities associated with 14 Antarctic sponge species from different sites within the Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) area was analyzed. Overall, isolates were mainly affiliated to Gammaproteobacteria, followed by Actinobacteria and CF group of Bacteroidetes, being the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Arthrobacter and Gillisia predominant, respectively. Alphaproteobacteria and Firmicutes were less represented. Cluster analyses highlighted similarities/differences among the sponge-associated bacterial communities, also in relation to the sampling site. The gammaproteobacterial Pseudoalteromonas sp. SER45, Psychrobacter sp. SER48, and Shewanella sp. SER50, and the actinobacterial Arthrobacter sp. SER44 phylotypes occurred in association with almost all the analyzed sponge species. However, except for SER50, these phylotypes were retrieved also in seawater, indicating that they may be transient within the sponge body. The differences encountered within the bacterial communities may depend on the different sites of origin, highlighting the importance of the habitat in structuring the composition of the associated bacterial assemblages. Our data support the hypothesis of specific ecological interactions between bacteria and Porifera.