Meeting Abstract

4-4  Thursday, Jan. 4 08:45 – 09:00  Shifts in the microbiome with onset and progression of Sea Star Wasting Disease revealed through time course sampling LLOYD, MM; PESPENI, MH*; University of Vermont; University of Vermont mpespeni@uvm.edu https://blog.uvm.edu/mpespeni/

The most recent outbreak of sea star wasting disease is one of the largest epizootics in history, but the interacting microbes associated with symptom progression have not been identified. Here, we used time course microbiome analysis of sea stars with and without Sea Star Wasting Disease to identify microbial community changes specific to symptom onset and progression. We identified shifts in the microbial communities of individuals that became sick that were distinct from the communities of individuals that remained healthy. The most notable change in microbial communities of sick individuals was the decrease of Pseudoalteromonas spp. as symptoms were first observed and through symptom progression. This decrease was followed by an increase of Tenacibaculum spp. and Polaribacter spp. in early disease stages, and an increase in Phaobacter spp and Polaribacter spp. late in disease stages. Functional profiling revealed that the microbial communities of healthy stars produced secondary metabolites and degraded xenobiotics, whereas the microbial communities of sick stars performed functions related to basic growth and metabolism. These results have identified the key microbial players associated with specific disease stages in Sea Star Wasting Disease and suggest that symptom onset and progression may be the result of complex interactions between multiple microbial taxa.