A New Way for Discovery of Sponge-Associated Bacteria with Biotechnological Potential

Sponges (Phylum Porifera) are host animals for various symbiotic microorganisms. Theecological value of the sponges together with the symbiotic association with bacteria, makethem an ideal system for biotechnological studies. Sponges are filter organisms, the presenceof numerous small pores on their surface allow the entry of water and the microorganismson which they feed. Microorganisms capable of resisting the sponges’ digestive process andimmune response become symbionts of the same [1]. Sponges pump up to 24 m3 kg-1 day-1of seawater that contains 1-5×106 bacteria ml-1, thus making up to 40% of their total biomass[2] and exceeding by two to three orders of magnitude the number of bacteria in seawater [3].The abundance of sponge-associated bacteria appears to be proportional to the capacity ofthe sponge’s irrigation system; infact sponges with an inadequate irrigation system containfew numbers of bacteria than sponges with a well adequate irrigation system. Sponges candistinguish between symbiotic microorganisms, pathogens and food-borne bacteria. Thebacteria associated with sponges may be species-specific bacteria or be naturally influencedby the environment in which they are found. Not only do sponges host diverse microbialcommunities, but most are metabolically active within their respective hosts (Kamke et al.2010); in fact, studies have shown that the production of some metabolites initially mistakenlyattributed to sponges are actually biosynthesized by the symbionts themselves. Consequently,culturing the micro-organism itself can provide a better source of the bioactive compound