Metagenomic and metabolomic analysis of a bryozoan-associated microbial complex from the Hanjiang River, China
- 1Hanshan Normal University, Chaozhou, China
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≈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 bryozoans included eukaryotes such as fungi, microalgae, as well as prokaryotes such as bacteria, and acellular entities such as 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 bryozoans 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, thereby forming a stable composite structure.
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BibTeX
@article{zhu2026metagenomic,
title = {{Metagenomic and metabolomic analysis of a bryozoan-associated microbial complex from the Hanjiang River, China}},
author = {Hui Zhu and Xiaozhi Lin and Ruixuan Wang and Ting Zhang and Wenju Xu and Weifeng Gao and Fang Fang and Jianjian Huang and Yanjie Sun},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358304},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358304},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Metagenomic and metabolomic analysis of a bryozoan-associated microbial complex from the Hanjiang River, China
AU - Hui Zhu
AU - Xiaozhi Lin
AU - Ruixuan Wang
AU - Ting Zhang
AU - Wenju Xu
AU - Weifeng Gao
AU - Fang Fang
AU - Jianjian Huang
AU - Yanjie Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358304
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358304
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≈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 bryozoans included eukaryotes such as fungi, microalgae, as well as prokaryotes such as bacteria, and acellular entities such as 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 bryozoans 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, thereby forming a stable composite structure.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -