[All-postdocs] Bioseminar - Katherine Lane

[Ana Velez]

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Biology Department Seminar

Thursday, October 23, 2025 - 12:00 pm
Redfield Auditorium

Katherine Lane
MIT-WHOI Joint Program PhD Student

Deep-Sea Siliceous Sponges Harbor Lineage-Specific and Functionally Diverse Microbiomes
Siliceous sponges are long-lived and basal-branching metazoans that host diverse microbial communities, yet their microbiome is not well-characterized, particularly in the deep ocean. Here, we used shotgun metagenomics to investigate the microbial communities of 13 siliceous sponges collected from four sites in the vicinity of Puerto Rico from depths ranging from 399.5 to 1882.8 meters. Nine of the sponges in this study are from five sponge family taxa that have not previously been sequenced using shotgun metagenomics. We assembled microbial genomes from 20 bacterial and 1 archaeal phyla, including ammonia-oxidizing archaea (Nitrosopumilaceae), which dominated most sponge microbial communities. Host sponge phylogeny significantly shaped microbial community composition and structure, with limited influence of sampling site location. The sponge-associated microbial communities possessed genetic potential for diverse metabolic functions, particularly regarding the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. Evidence of potential for microbial autotrophy was found in individual sponges through the presence of genes for rubisco and methanotrophy. These results reveal both conserved relationships and metabolic flexibility across siliceous sponge lineages, suggesting unique evolutionary dynamics and the importance of microbial metabolism to sponge host health and nutrient cycling in the oligotrophic deep ocean.

Biology Seminar Web Page<https://www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/understand/departments-centers-labs/bio/bio-highlights-events/>

For questions, contact:

Ana Maria Velez
Biology Pre-Award Administrative Associate
Ph: 508-289-2334
[signature_1005462319]

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