DETERMINING THE HOST-ASSOCIATED MICROBIOME OF DAPHNIA DENTIFERA IN EXPERIMENTAL AND NATURAL POPULATIONS

We sampled lakes and conducted a series of laboratory experiments to determine the structure of the host-associated microbiome in experimental and natural populations of Daphnia dentifera. In the laboratory, Daphnia were raised in several environments, including exposure to the virulent pathogenic fungus, Metschnikowia bicuspidata. In addition, we sampled individuals from the hypolimnion and epilimnion of three lakes created by strip mining in Vermilion County, IL, USA. We now have short-read 16s sequencing of 200 samples across a series of environments. Analysis is ongoing, but our preliminary analysis has found that Metschnikowia bicuspidata infection alters the microbial composition of the Daphnia. This difference was driven by differences in the relative abundance of Limnohabitans, which was the only taxa that showed a significant difference between exposed and control animals. When our analysis is complete, we will be able to determine which (if any) taxa are present across all environments and which are associated with particular conditions. 

Presentation Preference: Oral

Primary Presenter: Carla Caceres, University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign (carla.e.caceres@gmail.com)

Authors:

Carla Cáceres, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign  (carla.e.caceres@gmail.com)

Jeannette Cullum, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign  (jcullum2@illinois.edu)

Molly Fredericks, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign  (mjflemi2@illinois.edu)