Analysis of microbiota in cultures of the green microalga Tetraselmis suecica

Bacteria associated with microalgae strongly affect algal biomass and derived product yield and quality. Nevertheless, only a few studies have addressed the detailed phylogenetic characterization of bacterial communities associated with microalgae. In this study, the phycospheric bacterial communities associated with different Tetraselmis suecica F&M-M33 cultures, a green marine microalga with several industrial applications, were analysed using a metagenomic approach. The T. suecica F&M-M33 cultures used originated from the same ancestral microalgal non-axenic culture but were physically and geographically separated for years and maintained under different growing conditions. Despite the different history of the cultures, a ‘core’ bacterial community was identified, accounting for 70% of the total bacterial community and formed by at least 13 families. Among the ‘core’ operational taxonomic units (OTUs), 24 different genera were identified. Nevertheless, there was a high variability in the relative proportions of the taxa forming the ‘core’ community, indicating that the growing conditions and/or external contamination influence the relative abundance of these microorganisms. Our study allowed the identification of persistent taxa that may be used to deepen the knowledge of the complex relationship between T. suecica and its associated bacteria.