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Microbial Symbionts of Antarctic Marine Benthic Invertebrates

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The Ecological Role of Micro-organisms in the Antarctic Environment

Part of the book series: Springer Polar Sciences ((SPPS))

Abstract

The microbial colonization of living surfaces may be affected by several environmental and biological factors and may play an important role in the development and evolution of the holobiont. Antarctica, as an extreme and isolated environment, offers a unique opportunity to study the peculiar and often strict interactions that are established between a benthic host and its symbionts. Despite this, to date the association between microbes and Antarctic benthic invertebrates has been only seldom investigated, resulting in fragmented and poor information. This chapter will be devoted to showcase our current knowledge on prokaryotic (Bacteria and Archaea) and eukaryotic (yeasts and diatoms) microbial symbionts of Antarctic benthic invertebrate hosts, including mainly Porifera and, at to a lesser extent, Cnidaria, Echinodermata and Annelida.

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Acknowledgement

This chapter was supported by grants from the Italian Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide, Project PNRA16_00020, “Antarctic Porifera: Hot-spots for prokaryotic diversity and biotechnological potentialities” (PEA Code 2016/AZ1.08). All images but Fig. 13.1 have been made by Stefano Schiaparelli during different dives in Tethys Bay (Terra Nova Bay) (© PNRA). The PNRA project GEOSMART (2013/AZ2.06, PI Paolo Montagna) is acknowledged for the ROV image of Fig. 13.1, taken by Simonepietro Canese in Adelie Cove (Terra Nova Bay).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for the Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies, National Research Council, U.O.S. Messina, Messina, Italy

    Angelina Lo Giudice & Maurizio Azzaro

  2. Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Stefano Schiaparelli

  3. Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Stefano Schiaparelli

Authors
  1. Angelina Lo Giudice
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  2. Maurizio Azzaro
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  3. Stefano Schiaparelli
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Correspondence to Angelina Lo Giudice .

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  1. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Susana Castro-Sowinski

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Lo Giudice, A., Azzaro, M., Schiaparelli, S. (2019). Microbial Symbionts of Antarctic Marine Benthic Invertebrates. In: Castro-Sowinski, S. (eds) The Ecological Role of Micro-organisms in the Antarctic Environment. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02786-5_13

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