[Distinctive Features of the Microbial Diversity and the Polyketide Synthase GenesSpectrum in the Community of the Endemic Baikal Sponge Swartschewskia papyracea].

The diversity of the symbiotic community of the endemic Baikal sponge Swartschewskia papyracea was studied, and an analysis of the polyketide synthases genes spectrum in sponge-associated microorganisms was carried out. Six bacterial phyla were detected in the S. papyracea microbiome, namely, Verrucomicrobia, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Planctomycetes. Unlike the microbial associations of other freshwater sponges, the community under study was dominated by the Verrucomicrobia (42.1%) and Cyanobacteria (17.5%) phyla, while the proportion of the Proteobacteria was unusually low (9.7%). In the S. papyracea community metagenome, there were identified 18 polyketide synthases genes fragments, the closest homologs of which included the polyketide synthases of the microorganisms belonging to the bacterial phyla Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria (Betaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria classes), and Acidobacteria and to the eukaryotic algae of the Heterokonta phylum (Eustigmatophyceae class). Polyketide synthase sequences from S. papyracea formed three groups on the phylogenetic tree: a group of hybrid NRPS/PKS complexes, a group of cyanobacterial polyketide synthases, and a group of homologs of the eukaryotic alga Nannochloropsis galiana. Notably, the identified polyketide synthase genes fragments showed only a 57-88% similarity to the sequences in the databases, which implies the presence of genes controlling the synthesis of the novel, still unstudied, polyketide compounds in the S. papyracea community. It was proposed that the habitation conditions of S. papyracea affect the taxonomic composition of the microorganisms associated with the sponge, including the diversity of the producers of secondary metabolites.