This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Two Demosponges as Promising Bioremediators of a Potential Pathogenic Vibrio
by
, , , ,
Joseba Aguilo-Arce
1
,
Maria Scrascia
1
,
Roberta Trani
1,*
,
Carlo Pazzani
1
,
Pere Ferriol
2 and
Caterina Longo
1
1
Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology and Environment, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
2
Interdisciplinary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands, Carretera de Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biology 2025, 14(2), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14020140
Submission received: 27 December 2024
/
Revised: 22 January 2025
/
Accepted: 28 January 2025
/
Published: 29 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquatic Economic Animal Breeding and Healthy Farming)
Simple Summary
Marine sponges, widespread across the world’s oceans, are highly efficient filter feeders capable of retaining various organic particles, including bacteria. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of two common Mediterranean sponge species to filter and retain a multidrug-resistant strain of V. parahaemolyticus. Both sponges demonstrated high clearance and retention efficiencies, with no bacterial excretion observed after six days. The sponges remained healthy throughout the experimental period, showing no signs of infection. These findings highlight the sponges’ resilience and effective filtering capabilities, emphasizing their potential role in impacted environments such as aquaculture systems by mitigating the spread of antimicrobial resistance—a growing global challenge.
Abstract
Marine sponges play a fundamental role in the proper functioning of the ecosystem by filtering organic matter and contributing to nutrient fluxes. These animals have been proposed as efficient bioremediators of microbiological contamination in various environmental conditions subjected by anthropogenic pressure. In the present study, the bioremediation potential of the demosponges Aplysina aerophoba and Geodia cydonium was analyzed ex situ. For this purpose, the viable count of an antibiotic-resistant bacterial strain belonging to the species Vibrio parahaemolyticus was assessed in presence of the selected sponge species. Although some sponge individuals showed closed oscula during the first hours of the experiment, A. aerophoba and G. cydonium reduced the bacterial load in the seawater up to five orders of magnitude in 72 h. In addition, they had high clearance rates and retention efficiencies, with almost complete removal of the tested bacteria. Low Vibrio concentrations were observed in all tanks after six days, suggesting no excretion of viable Vibrio from sponges. These results corroborate the usefulness of A. aerophoba and G. cydonium as bioremediators of bacteria and therefore appear to be ideal candidates for bioremediation purposes in anthropogenic environments, such as aquaculture facilities, where multidrug-resistant bacteria may play a role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
