Heterotrophic protists cultured from marine invertebrate digestive tracts

1
Heterotrophic protists cultured from marine
invertebrate digestive tracts

• Wyth Marshall PhD Candidate
• Supervisor Dr. Mary Berbee
• University of British Columbia
• Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

2
Reasons to Study Marine Protists
Cryptosporidium

• Undiscovered Biodiversity
• Diseases and Parasites
• Food Web Implications
• Secondary metabolites and other biologically
  useful compounds
• Genetic Diversity

www.medinfo.ufl.edu
www.ulb.ac.bc
Gregarines
3
Genetic Diversity
Plants
Animals
4
Heterotrophic flagellated fungus-like protists
Opisthokonts
Animals
Choanoflagellates, Mesomycetozoans
Fungi
Plants
Brown algae, diatoms
Heterokonts/Stramenopiles
Oomycetes
Thraustochytrids
Other Eukaryotes
5
Methods

• Marine Invertebrate Guts
• Nutritious environment for heterotrophs

www.mbl.edu
6
Methods

• Marine Invertebrate Guts
• Nutritious environment for heterotrophs
• Concentrate microbes via feeding behaviour

Detritivore
Filter feeder
www.mbl.edu
7
Methods

• Marine Invertebrate Guts
• Nutritious environment for heterotrophs
• Concentrate microbes via feeding behaviour
• Resident parasites and symbionts

Detritivore
Filter feeder
www.mbl.edu
8
Methods
N
Pacific Ocean
Dredging for animals at the Bamfield Marine
Sciences Center
Bamfield
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
9
Methods
Pacific Oyster
Sand Dollar
www.manandmollusc.net
Peter Fankboner
Peanut Worm
10
Thraustochytrids (60 isolates)

• No culture collections from British Columbia
• Pests
• - Aquaculture disease
• - invertebrate cell culture contaminants
• Food additives
• -Poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)

www.zae.ucc.ie
11
Food Additives

• DHA and EPA
• Cost effective culturing methods
• Antioxidants
• Pigments

12
Thraustochytrids
Thraustochytrids
Brown algae
13
Mesomycetozoa (15 strains)
Fungi

• DRIPs, Ichthyosporids
• Recently discovered lineage (1996)
• Mostly unculturable
• Rare
• Basal Metazoans?
• Animal parasites

Mesomycetozoa
Choanoflagellates
Animals
Plants
14
Rhinosporidium
Mesomycetozoa
15
Mesomycetozoa
Ichthyophonus
www.oregonstate.edu
16
SSU rDNA
Amoebidium parasiticum
Enterobryus sp.
Ichthyophonus hoferi
Ichthyophonus irregularis
Psorospermium haeckelii
Taeniella carcini
Op2/SC7/PW2
Pseudoperkinsus tapetis
Environmental clone TAGIRI-25
Op3
Mc2/SD1
97
Sphaeroforma arctica
Environmental clone ikaite-53
PW1/PW4/SC2/T2
Anurofeca sp
Anurofeca richardsi
Environmental clone LKM51
Environmental clone s16
PW2b
Environmental clone s416
Environmental clone s25
Environmental clone TAGIRI-27
100
Environmental clone ms313
Environmental clone TAGIRI-26
Environmental clone s220
Dermocystidium percae
50 changes
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Conclusions

• There are many diverse groups of protists to be
  discovered by basic exploratory research.
• Groups thought to be rare may be found frequently
  in the correct habitat.
• Establishment of stable axenic cultures
  facilitates further research into the physiology
  of these organisms.

18
Acknowledgements

• Thank-you to Clement Tsui, Sea Ra Lim, and to
  the staff at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center.

Funding NSERC and BMSC