Genomic insights into bacterial communities of coenocytic algae using metagenome-assembled genomes
- 1Department of Sciences and Technology, Inter American University of Puerto Rico
- 2Dr. James Youngblom Center for Sustainable Biotechnology, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Stanislaus
Abstract
Coenocytic algae are organisms that undergo karyokinesis without cytokinesis, resulting in multinucleated cells. Most research on bacterial communities in coenocytic algae has used 16S rRNA sequencing, primarily focusing on the order Bryopsidales of green coenocytic algae. Recent studies have analyzed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from algal hosts across multiple taxa, such as Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta, revealing further insights into bacterial biosynthetic machinery and potential symbiotic relationships. Given the cosmopolitan distribution of coenocytic algae, such as Bryopsis , Caulerpa , Codium , and the yellow-green alga Vaucheria , and their unique morphology, there is a need to better understand their associated bacterial communities. To address this, filaments of Vaucheria bursata LB2067 were sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq instrument, and all publicly available short- and long-read datasets from coenocytic algae were screened for MAG recovery. All recovered MAGs from both Bryopsidales and Vaucheriales showed a high dominance of Pseudomonadota at the phylum level, but no consistent patterns at the order or family levels. Core metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the TCA cycle, and amino acid biosynthesis, were present across MAGs from both coenocytic and non-coenocytic algae. Pathways with significantly higher completeness in coenocytic-associated MAGs included protein secretion (Sec-SRP), which showed the strongest effect, motility (flagellar assembly), thiamin biosynthesis, and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) synthesis (Mann–Whitney U , p adj < 0.05). Notably, N-acetylglutaminylglutamine amide (NAGGN) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were found only in MAGs from coenocytic orders, whereas polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) were present in all MAGs analyzed. These results indicate that bacterial communities associated with coenocytic algae are complex, with diverse survival strategies adapted to challenging and variable environments.
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BibTeX
@article{laureano2026genomic,
title = {{Genomic insights into bacterial communities of coenocytic algae using metagenome-assembled genomes}},
author = {Gerardo Laureano and Xochitl Ramirez and Ashley Scoles and Christina Johne and Coralys M. Colón Sáez and Yerlianys M. Hernández Ortiz and Jennifer Soleyman and Ramón E. Rivera-Vicéns and Alok Arun},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1851259},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1851259/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Genomic insights into bacterial communities of coenocytic algae using metagenome-assembled genomes
AU - Gerardo Laureano
AU - Xochitl Ramirez
AU - Ashley Scoles
AU - Christina Johne
AU - Coralys M. Colón Sáez
AU - Yerlianys M. Hernández Ortiz
AU - Jennifer Soleyman
AU - Ramón E. Rivera-Vicéns
AU - Alok Arun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1851259
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1851259/full
AB - Coenocytic algae are organisms that undergo karyokinesis without cytokinesis, resulting in multinucleated cells. Most research on bacterial communities in coenocytic algae has used 16S rRNA sequencing, primarily focusing on the order Bryopsidales of green coenocytic algae. Recent studies have analyzed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from algal hosts across multiple taxa, such as Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta, revealing further insights into bacterial biosynthetic machinery and potential symbiotic relationships. Given the cosmopolitan distribution of coenocytic algae, such as Bryopsis , Caulerpa , Codium , and the yellow-green alga Vaucheria , and their unique morphology, there is a need to better understand their associated bacterial communities. To address this, filaments of Vaucheria bursata LB2067 were sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq instrument, and all publicly available short- and long-read datasets from coenocytic algae were screened for MAG recovery. All recovered MAGs from both Bryopsidales and Vaucheriales showed a high dominance of Pseudomonadota at the phylum level, but no consistent patterns at the order or family levels. Core metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the TCA cycle, and amino acid biosynthesis, were present across MAGs from both coenocytic and non-coenocytic algae. Pathways with significantly higher completeness in coenocytic-associated MAGs included protein secretion (Sec-SRP), which showed the strongest effect, motility (flagellar assembly), thiamin biosynthesis, and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) synthesis (Mann–Whitney U , p adj < 0.05). Notably, N-acetylglutaminylglutamine amide (NAGGN) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were found only in MAGs from coenocytic orders, whereas polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) were present in all MAGs analyzed. These results indicate that bacterial communities associated with coenocytic algae are complex, with diverse survival strategies adapted to challenging and variable environments.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -