Exploration of the Microbiota Associated with Body Regions Within the Host Sea Cucumber, Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)
Abstract
The black sea cucumber, Holothuria forskali, is an emerging target species for aquaculture; however, knowledge of its biology remains limited. Investigating its associated microbiota is a crucial step toward developing a controlled and sustainable aquaculture. In this study, the microbiota of three different body compartments of the host H. forskali—namely, the dorsal epidermis, the posterior intestinal content, and the coelomic fluid—were analysed using targeted metagenomics (V3-V4 rRNA 16S Metabarcoding). We compared host-associated communities with bacterial environmental communities across three periods in 2020 at two sites in south Brittany, totalling 309 analyses (36 environmental samples and 273 sea cucumber samples). The objective was to explore the diversity of the sea cucumber microbiota from the external to the internal regions of the animal. Thus, a total of 8695 OTUs were identified and classified into 52 bacterial phyla, 119 classes, and 45,596 orders. The results highlighted (1) anatomical compartmentalisation—with significantly different bacterial assemblages in terms of diversity, composition, and abundance across the three body regions—(2) host versus environment differences, and (3) temporal variations, as microbial community structures shifted significantly in winter compared to summer and autumn. This analysis identified specific taxa and families associated with each compartment with a potential role in host health. Results also showed relationships between the sea cucumber microbiota and their ambient environment. In fact, the presence of common bacterial taxa observed in the sediment and in the gastrointestinal microbiota supported the feeding behaviour of H. forskali. The sea cucumber microbiome thus appears to be compartmentalised “anatomically”, exhibiting a relatively low abundance of bacteria in the coelomic cavity, distinct from that of the microbial communities of seawater and sediments. This study highlighted the importance of the microbiota for the host and confirmed the existence of a core microbiota within H. forskali.
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BibTeX
@article{laguerre2026exploration,
title = {{Exploration of the Microbiota Associated with Body Regions Within the Host Sea Cucumber, Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)}},
author = {Hélène Laguerre and Cyril Noël and Yannick Fleury and Camille Jégou and Christian Miquel and Patrick Le Chevalier and Stephane Reynaud},
journal = {Diversity},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.3390/d18070399},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05735483v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exploration of the Microbiota Associated with Body Regions Within the Host Sea Cucumber, Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)
AU - Hélène Laguerre
AU - Cyril Noël
AU - Yannick Fleury
AU - Camille Jégou
AU - Christian Miquel
AU - Patrick Le Chevalier
AU - Stephane Reynaud
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Diversity
DO - 10.3390/d18070399
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05735483v1
AB - The black sea cucumber, Holothuria forskali, is an emerging target species for aquaculture; however, knowledge of its biology remains limited. Investigating its associated microbiota is a crucial step toward developing a controlled and sustainable aquaculture. In this study, the microbiota of three different body compartments of the host H. forskali—namely, the dorsal epidermis, the posterior intestinal content, and the coelomic fluid—were analysed using targeted metagenomics (V3-V4 rRNA 16S Metabarcoding). We compared host-associated communities with bacterial environmental communities across three periods in 2020 at two sites in south Brittany, totalling 309 analyses (36 environmental samples and 273 sea cucumber samples). The objective was to explore the diversity of the sea cucumber microbiota from the external to the internal regions of the animal. Thus, a total of 8695 OTUs were identified and classified into 52 bacterial phyla, 119 classes, and 45,596 orders. The results highlighted (1) anatomical compartmentalisation—with significantly different bacterial assemblages in terms of diversity, composition, and abundance across the three body regions—(2) host versus environment differences, and (3) temporal variations, as microbial community structures shifted significantly in winter compared to summer and autumn. This analysis identified specific taxa and families associated with each compartment with a potential role in host health. Results also showed relationships between the sea cucumber microbiota and their ambient environment. In fact, the presence of common bacterial taxa observed in the sediment and in the gastrointestinal microbiota supported the feeding behaviour of H. forskali. The sea cucumber microbiome thus appears to be compartmentalised “anatomically”, exhibiting a relatively low abundance of bacteria in the coelomic cavity, distinct from that of the microbial communities of seawater and sediments. This study highlighted the importance of the microbiota for the host and confirmed the existence of a core microbiota within H. forskali.
SN - 1424-2818
ER -