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<p>Asexual reproduction serves as a fundamental strategy toward rapid population expansion in many early diverging metazoans. Growing evidence indicates that microbial associations play an essential role in host asexual reproduction. However, community dynamics and functional traits of the microbiome during this process remain poorly understood. The upside-down jellyfish (<i>Cassiopea xamachana</i>)—a culturable cnidarian model—hosts photosynthetic obligate endosymbionts and a diverse array of bacterial communities. Here, we employed full-length <i>16S rRNA</i> gene and Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (<i>ITS2</i>) amplicon sequencing to investigate the diversity dynamics among bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities between two asexual reproductive modes: strobilation and planuloid reproduction. Comparative analyses revealed marked stage-specific changes in bacterial community composition and diversity under both modes, whereas those of Symbiodiniaceae remained relatively stable. Functional prediction based on <i>16S rRNA</i> sequences indicated that bacterial recombination during strobilation may coincide with metabolic shifts toward nutrient biosynthesis, host-bacterial communications, and antiviral defense, which potentially support the host through non-feeding strobilae stages. Bacterial functions during planuloid reproduction were predicted to be enriched in nutrient biosynthesis. However, bacterial communities associated with newly formed polyps may promote host settlement and further development by participating in processes such as nitric oxide metabolism and nitrogen fixation. Collectively, these findings suggest that dynamic bacterial compositional restructuring may constitute a crucial strategy in supporting the host through different asexual reproductive modes, which pose distinct physiological challenges.</p>

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Stage-Specific Shifts in Bacterial Communities and Their Functions Among Distinct Modes of Asexual Reproduction in Upside-Down Jellyfish

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月4日

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  • Munjira Yeasmin,
  • Saijun Peng

摘要

Asexual reproduction serves as a fundamental strategy toward rapid population expansion in many early diverging metazoans. Growing evidence indicates that microbial associations play an essential role in host asexual reproduction. However, community dynamics and functional traits of the microbiome during this process remain poorly understood. The upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana)—a culturable cnidarian model—hosts photosynthetic obligate endosymbionts and a diverse array of bacterial communities. Here, we employed full-length 16S rRNA gene and Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) amplicon sequencing to investigate the diversity dynamics among bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities between two asexual reproductive modes: strobilation and planuloid reproduction. Comparative analyses revealed marked stage-specific changes in bacterial community composition and diversity under both modes, whereas those of Symbiodiniaceae remained relatively stable. Functional prediction based on 16S rRNA sequences indicated that bacterial recombination during strobilation may coincide with metabolic shifts toward nutrient biosynthesis, host-bacterial communications, and antiviral defense, which potentially support the host through non-feeding strobilae stages. Bacterial functions during planuloid reproduction were predicted to be enriched in nutrient biosynthesis. However, bacterial communities associated with newly formed polyps may promote host settlement and further development by participating in processes such as nitric oxide metabolism and nitrogen fixation. Collectively, these findings suggest that dynamic bacterial compositional restructuring may constitute a crucial strategy in supporting the host through different asexual reproductive modes, which pose distinct physiological challenges.