Microbial diversity in four Mediterranean irciniid sponges

The examined host species, all collected from Crete, Greece, are Ircinia fasciculata, I. oros, I. variabilis, and Sarcotragus spinosulus. In this study we have tried to answer some specific questions such as: a) Is there a host species specific footprint on microbial communities, b) if there is an East versus West Mediterranean footprint, c) if there are similarities or differences on the composition of Ircinia species and non-Ircinia species (species specificity, sponge specificity) and finally whether there is a tissue specific patterning effect of the symbiotic microbial communities of sponges under study本研究所涉及的宿主物种均采集自希腊克里特岛，包括束状皂角海绵（Ircinia fasciculata）、奥洛斯皂角海绵（Ircinia oros）、可变皂角海绵（Ircinia variabilis）以及多棘肉海绵（Sarcotragus spinosulus）。本研究旨在解答若干针对性科学问题：a) 微生物群落是否存在宿主物种特异性印记；b) 地中海东部与西部海域是否存在群落特征差异；c) 皂角海绵属物种与非皂角海绵属物种的微生物组成是否存在异同（即物种特异性、海绵特异性）；最后探究受试海绵的共生微生物群落是否存在组织特异性分布模式。