Search for: All records

The sea cucumber (H. glaberrima) is a species found in the shallow waters near coral reefs and seagrass beds in Puerto Rico. To characterize the microbial taxonomic composition and functional profiles present in the sea cucumber, to- tal DNA was obtained from their intestinal system, fosmid libraries constructed, and subsequent sequencing was per- formed. The diversity profile displayed that the most pre- dominant domain was Bacteria (76.56 %), followed by Viruses (23.24 %) and Archaea (0.04 %). Within the 11 phyla iden- tified, the most abundant was Proteobacteria (73.16 %), fol- lowed by Terrabacteria group (3.20 %) and Fibrobacterota, Chlorobiota, Bacteroidota (FCB) superphylum (1.02 %). The most abundant species were Porvidencia rettgeri (21.77 %), Pseudomonas stutzeri (14.78 %), and Alcaligenes faecalis (5.00 %). The functional profile revealed that the most abundant functions are related to transporters, MISC (miscellaneous information systems), organic nitrogen, energy, and carbon utilization. The data collected in this project on the diver- sity and functional profiles of the intestinal system of the H. glaberrima provided a detailed view of its microbial ecology. These findings may motivate comparative studies aimed at understanding the role of the microbiome in intestinal regen- eration. 

The microbiota, the set of microorganisms associated with a particular environment or host, has acquired a prominent role in the study of many physiological and developmental processes. Among these, is the relationship between the microbiota and regenerative processes in various organisms. Here we introduce the concept of the microbiota and its involvement in regeneration-related cellular events. We then review the role of the microbiota in regenerative models that extend from the repair of tissue layers to the regeneration of complete organs or animals. We highlight the role of the microbiota in the digestive tract, since it accounts for a significant percentage of an animal microbiota, and at the same time provides an outstanding system to study microbiota effects on regeneration. Lastly, while this review serves to highlight echinoderms, primarily holothuroids, as models for regeneration studies, it also provides multiple examples of microbiota-related interactions in other processes in different organisms.