Comparative Metagenomic Analysis of Coral Microbial Communities Using a Reference-Independent Approach

Autor(es)

Carlos, Camila ^[1] ; Assumpcao Castro, Daniel Bedo ^[1] ; Ottoboni, Laura M. M. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] State Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Ctr Mol Biol & Genet Engn CBMEG, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PLoS One; v. 9, n. 11 NOV 7 2014.
• Citações Web of Science: 4

Resumo

By comparing the SEED and Pfam functional profiles of metagenomes of two Brazilian coral species with 29 datasets that are publicly available, we were able to identify some functions, such as protein secretion systems, that are overrepresented in the metagenomes of corals and may play a role in the establishment and maintenance of bacteria-coral associations. However, only a small percentage of the reads of these metagenomes could be annotated by these reference databases, which may lead to a strong bias in the comparative studies. For this reason, we have searched for identical sequences (99% of nucleotide identity) among these metagenomes in order to perform a reference-independent comparative analysis, and we were able to identify groups of microbial communities that may be under similar selective pressures. The identification of sequences shared among the metagenomes was found to be even better for the identification of groups of communities with similar niche requirements than the traditional analysis of functional profiles. This approach is not only helpful for the investigation of similarities between microbial communities with high proportion of unknown reads, but also enables an indirect overview of gene exchange between communities. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/50247-4 - Caracterização da microbiota associada ao muco de corais escleractíneos do litoral do estado de São Paulo por pirosequenciamento
• Beneficiário: Laura Maria Mariscal Ottoboni
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 10/02325-6 - Caracterização da microbiota associada ao muco de corais escleractíneos do litoral do Estado de São Paulo por pirosequenciamento
• Beneficiário: Camila Carlos
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado