Better together? Microbial communities associated with enhanced growth of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea when mixed with a native Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 2BETA Technological Centre- University of Vic- Central University of Catalunya (BETA- UVIC- UCC), Vic, Barcelona, Spain
- 3Antimicrobial Resistance Unit, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- 4Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- 5Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
- 6Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
- 7Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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.
Methods:: 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.
Results:: 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.
Discussion/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.
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BibTeX
@article{hozafrederick2026better,
title = {{Better together? Microbial communities associated with enhanced growth of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea when mixed with a native Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa}},
author = {Emma Hoza-Frederick and Sergio Martínez-Campos and Paul H. Barber and Marlen I. Vasquez and Vasileios Fotopoulos and Chrystalla Antoniou and Katerina Drakou and Filipa Godoy-Vitorino and Kelcie L. Chiquillo},
journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Better together? Microbial communities associated with enhanced growth of the invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea when mixed with a native Mediterranean seagrass Cymodocea nodosa
AU - Emma Hoza-Frederick
AU - Sergio Martínez-Campos
AU - Paul H. Barber
AU - Marlen I. Vasquez
AU - Vasileios Fotopoulos
AU - Chrystalla Antoniou
AU - Katerina Drakou
AU - Filipa Godoy-Vitorino
AU - Kelcie L. Chiquillo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Frontiers in Marine Science
DO - 10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1871379
AB - 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. Methods:: 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. Results:: 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. Discussion/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.
SN - 2296-7745
ER -