New article explores the deep‑sea sponge Inflatella pellicula and its unique microbiome
MARBLES researchers from University College Cork (UCC) and Wageningen University (WU) have recently published a new MARBLES-supported article in Microbial Genomics. Titled “New insights into the microbiome of the deep-sea sponge Inflatella pellicula and the secondary metabolic potential of metagenome-assembled genomes and the wider microbiome”, it provides fresh insights into the microbiome of this understudied deep‑sea sponge.
By sequencing a specimen sampled at 2,900 metres, Stephen Jackson and his team found that much of its DNA could not be classified, highlighting the presence of “biological dark matter” in a large fraction of the sequence.
As opposed to similar work from other marine habitats, only a small number of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) could be reconstructed and only a small number of secondary‑metabolism biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were detected. Yet, the BGCs that were identified were highly novel and only distantly related to known pathways. Some also resembled uncharacterised BGCs found in other deep‑sea sponges from distant regions, suggesting a shared but largely unexplored biosynthetic potential across the deep ocean.
The findings point to deep‑sea sponges as promising sources of new natural products and reinforce the importance of continued exploration of these understudied environments.