Temporal Changes of the Epiphytic Bacteria Community From the Marine Macroalga Ulva lactuca (Santa Marta, Colombian-Caribbean)

Microbial communities live on macroalgal surfaces. The identity and abundance of the bacteria making these epiphytic communities depend on the macroalgal host and the environmental conditions. Macroalgae rely on epiphytic bacteria for basic functions (spore settlement, morphogenesis, growth, and protection against pathogens). However, these marine bacterial-macroalgal associations are still poorly understood for macroalgae inhabiting the Colombian Caribbean. This study aimed at characterizing the epiphytic bacterial community from macroalgae of the species Ulva lactuca growing in La Punta de la Loma (Santa Marta, Colombia). We conducted a 16S rRNA gene sequencing-based study of these microbial communities sampled twice a year between 2014 and 2016. Within these communities, the Proteobacteria, Bacterioidetes, Cyanobacteria, Deinococcus-Thermus and Actinobacteria were the most abundant phyla. At low taxonomic levels, we found high variability among epiphytic bacteria from U. lactuca and bacterial communities associated with macroalgae from Germany and Australia. We observed differences in the bacterial community composition across years driven by abundance shifts of Rhodobacteraceae Hyphomonadaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae, probably caused by an increase of seawater temperature. Our results support the need for functional studies of the microbiota associated with U. lactuca, a common macroalga in the Colombian Caribbean Sea.

Automated summary

This study characterized the epiphytic bacterial community from Ulva lactuca macroalgae in Santa Marta, Colombia, revealing differences in bacterial composition compared to macroalgae from Germany and Australia, driven by shifts in seawater temperature. This highlights the importance of functional studies on the microbiota associated with U. lactuca in the Colombian Caribbean Sea.