Emiliania huxleyi-Phaeobacter inhibens Dynamic Interaction

Community ID CommunityMech:000143

Ecological State ENGINEERED

Environment marine coccolithophore-bacterium co-culture
ENVO:00002149

A defined marine algal-bacterial co-culture model between the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi CCMP3266 and the Roseobacter-group bacterium Phaeobacter inhibens DSM 17395. The interaction is dynamic: attached bacteria initially promote algal growth but later kill aging algal hosts. Evidence supports algal nutrient provisioning to the heterotrophic bacterium, bacterial attachment to naked algal cells, and indole-3-acetic acid production stimulated by algal-exuded tryptophan.

Taxonomy

Taxon	Ontology ID	Functional Roles	Abundance
Emiliania huxleyi CCMP3266	NCBITaxon:2903	PRIMARY_PRODUCER CROSS_FEEDER	N/A
PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO) "The axenic algal strain of Emiliania huxleyi was CCMP3266"
Phaeobacter inhibens DSM 17395	NCBITaxon:391619	SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER CROSS_FEEDER	N/A
PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO) "The bacterial strain of Phaeobacter inhibens was DSM 17395"

Ecological Interactions

Taxon

Cross-feeding

Mutualism

Syntrophy

Competition

Commensalism

Niche partitioning

Colonization facilitation

Strain competition

Predation

Algal Nutrient Provisioning Supports Bacterial Growth

CROSS_FEEDING

Source Taxon: Emiliania huxleyi CCMP3266

Target Taxon: Phaeobacter inhibens DSM 17395

Biological Processes:

photosynthesis (GO:0015979)

Evidence

PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)

"E. huxleyi can provide all four essential nutrients"

Tryptophan-Enhanced Bacterial Attachment And IAA Production

MUTUALISM

Source Taxon: Emiliania huxleyi CCMP3266

Target Taxon: Phaeobacter inhibens DSM 17395

Metabolites: tryptophan (CHEBI:16828), indole-3-acetic acid (CHEBI:16411)

Biological Processes:

tryptophan biosynthetic process (GO:0000162)

Evidence

PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)

"Bacterial production of indole-3-acetic acid and attachment to algae are significantly increased by tryptophan"

IAA-Mediated Algal Growth Promotion And Killing

PREDATION

Source Taxon: Phaeobacter inhibens DSM 17395

Target Taxon: Emiliania huxleyi CCMP3266

Metabolites: indole-3-acetic acid (CHEBI:16411)

Evidence

PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)

"Both algal growth enhancement and algal death are driven by the bacterially-produced phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid"

Associated Datasets

Dataset	Type	Repository	Accession
Dynamic metabolic exchange article and figure data Article-hosted culture, imaging, flow cytometry, metabolite, and gene-expression data describing the E. huxleyi-P. inhibens co-culture.	PHENOTYPE	OTHER	eLife-17473

Environmental Factors

Factor	Value	Unit
L1-Si seawater medium	Seawater-based L1 medium without silicate	N/A
PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO) "the medium was referred to as L1-Si"
light-dark cycle	12 h light / 12 h dark at 18 degrees Celsius	N/A
PMID:27855786 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO) "Algae were grown in standing cultures in a Percival chamber"

Growth Media

L1-Si medium for E. huxleyi-P. inhibens co-culture

Temperature 18 degrees Celsius

Atmosphere AEROBIC

Preparation notes: E. huxleyi CCMP3266 was grown in L1 medium without sodium silicate; P. inhibens DSM 17395 was added to algal cultures after four days.

Evidence

PMID:27855786

"Co-cultures of E. huxleyi and P. inhibens were cultured as follows"