{
  "abstract": "Introduction:: Microorganisms are increasingly recognized as important contributors to the invasion success of introduced species into new environments. The globally invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea flourishes in mixed species assemblages with native seagrasses, where it exhibits enhanced growth, while, in contrast, native seagrasses in mixed environments experience reduced growth. Here, we hypothesize that microbes may support the success of invasive seagrass in mixed Mediterranean environments.\n\nMethods:: We analyzed 16S rRNA genes to characterize phyllosphere microbial diversity associated with the Mediterranean-native seagrass Cymodocea nodosa and the invasive H. stipulacea when grown alone or together, alongside biochemical, morphological, and sediment nutrient measurements.\n\nResults:: Overall, C. nodosa in monoculture harbored a microbiome exhibiting higher ASV richness and a distinct community composition than H. stipulacea. Variation in bacterial diversity associated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and internode length suggests that microbial communities of the native seagrass might be shaped by its stress-related physiological condition. Conversely, H. stipulacea’s microbiome was most abundant in mixed environments, with bacteria significantly reduced in monoculture, and bacterial diversity loosely associated with growth, suggesting that bacterial diversity patterns associated with H. stipulacea vary across competition contexts and may be associated with differences in performance in mixed environments.\n\nDiscussion/Conclusion:: Our findings suggest that invasive H. stipulacea in the Mediterranean Sea is capable of harboring distinct bacterial assemblages that may be associated with growth patterns observed when co-occurring with the native seagrass C. nodosa. Future work should center on the mechanisms driving H. stipulacea bacterial communities and investigating whether H. stipulacea actively determines its own microbiome, or whether it passively acquires its microbiome by environmental variables.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico",
    "BETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Vic, Barcelona, Spain",
    "Antimicrobial Resistance Unit, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain",
    "Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States",
    "Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus",
    "Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus",
    "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Emma Hoza-Frederick"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sergio Martínez-Campos"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Paul H. Barber"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Marlen I. Vasquez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Vasileios Fotopoulos"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Chrystalla Antoniou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Katerina Drakou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Filipa Godoy-Vitorino"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kelcie L. Chiquillo"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cjjjskx3ydxgp.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13733596/",
  "id": "cjjjskx3ydxgp",
  "issns": [
    "2296-7745"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2303|Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221750396",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13733596",
  "pmid": "42985593",
  "published": "2026-10-13",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cjjjskx3ydxgp.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:23:21Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13733596",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2303|Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Better together? Microbial communities associated with enhanced growth of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea when mixed with a native Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa",
  "title_text": "Better together? Microbial communities associated with enhanced growth of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea when mixed with a native Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:23:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cjjjskx3ydxgp",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Marine Science",
  "versions": []
}