Metagenomic and metabolomic analysis of a bryozoan-associated microbial complex from the Hanjiang River, China
- 1Hanshan Normal University
Abstract
Background Bryozoans are ancient colonial animals that have existed for over 470 million years and are widely distributed across aquatic environments. Recently, many spherical colloids (average diameter{approx}1 meter in diameter), containing bryozoans and diverse microorganisms, were found in the Hanjiang river in China. In this study, we investigated these bryozoan-dominated microbial complexes using metagenomic sequencing, metabolomic profiling, and complementary approaches. Results The results revealed that the microbial structure dominated by bryophytes included eukaryotes such as fungi, microalgae, and small parasites etc., as well as prokaryotes such as bacteria and viruses. All members form a highly integrated consortium that collaboratively maintains community function and stability, which displayed the shape and structure of a regular microbial complex and increased in size. Additionally, the results suggested the predominately presence of Proteobacteria were particularly abundant and are known to produce bryostatins in response to bryozoan signals. Interesting, it was implied that a decrease or even a loss in virulence occurs when pathogenic microorganisms become members of the complex. This is the first study focusing on the composition and metabolites of the unusual microorganism complex. The results discovered the close and intriguing connections within the microbial communities dominated by the ancient organism bryozoan through multi-omics technologies. It showed that both eukaryotes and prokaryotes can coordinate or compete, thereby forming a stable composite structure.
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BibTeX
@misc{zhu2026metagenomic,
title = {{Metagenomic and metabolomic analysis of a bryozoan-associated microbial complex from the Hanjiang River, China}},
author = {H. Zhu and X. Lin and R. Wang and T. Zhang and W. Xu and W. Gao and F. Fang and J. Huang and Y. Sun},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.01.748657},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748657v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Metagenomic and metabolomic analysis of a bryozoan-associated microbial complex from the Hanjiang River, China
AU - H. Zhu
AU - X. Lin
AU - R. Wang
AU - T. Zhang
AU - W. Xu
AU - W. Gao
AU - F. Fang
AU - J. Huang
AU - Y. Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.01.748657
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748657v1
AB - Background Bryozoans are ancient colonial animals that have existed for over 470 million years and are widely distributed across aquatic environments. Recently, many spherical colloids (average diameter{approx}1 meter in diameter), containing bryozoans and diverse microorganisms, were found in the Hanjiang river in China. In this study, we investigated these bryozoan-dominated microbial complexes using metagenomic sequencing, metabolomic profiling, and complementary approaches. Results The results revealed that the microbial structure dominated by bryophytes included eukaryotes such as fungi, microalgae, and small parasites etc., as well as prokaryotes such as bacteria and viruses. All members form a highly integrated consortium that collaboratively maintains community function and stability, which displayed the shape and structure of a regular microbial complex and increased in size. Additionally, the results suggested the predominately presence of Proteobacteria were particularly abundant and are known to produce bryostatins in response to bryozoan signals. Interesting, it was implied that a decrease or even a loss in virulence occurs when pathogenic microorganisms become members of the complex. This is the first study focusing on the composition and metabolites of the unusual microorganism complex. The results discovered the close and intriguing connections within the microbial communities dominated by the ancient organism bryozoan through multi-omics technologies. It showed that both eukaryotes and prokaryotes can coordinate or compete, thereby forming a stable composite structure.
ER -