It is well known that marine organisms are prolific producers of natural products. Despite this, the microbiome of marine sponges has yet to be fully explored. Not only are the sponges themselves capable of producing interesting compounds, they are also an ecosystem for other marine organisms, such as bacteria. We aim to isolate the microorganisms from the sponge Clathria prolifera, also known as the red beard sponge, and identify the natural products they produce when in competition with each other. Native to shallow waters in the western Atlantic ocean, our sponge sample was obtained from Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 

We began our research by isolating microorganisms from the sponge. To extract microorganisms on the surface of the sponge, we washed the sponge sample with water and streaked these extracts onto several different bacterial media to cultivate microbes, using different media to enrich different bacteria. We isolated individual bacteria by restreaking until we achieved single isolates.

Next, we used PCR amplification to amplify the 16S rRNA gene of each isolate, which can be used to differentiate species of bacteria. We used gel electrophoresis to confirm that the correct size gene was amplified. 

After sequencing the rRNA genes, we used BLAST to identify the different species via comparison to known bacterial genomes and identified two Bacillus species.

Next, we put these two Bacillus species in competition with each other by inoculating flasks with multiple bacteria at varying times to determine what natural products they make when in competition with each other. These studies are ongoing and we aim to use liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify interesting natural products made by these bacteria.

In the future, our goals are to continue fight club studies with additional isolated bacteria, on solid media in addition to liquid media, to sequence any new strains of bacteria we isolate, and to use imaging mass spectrometry to understand the spatial production of metabolites produced. These experiments will help us gain a better understanding of the C. prolifera microbiome and how bacteria interact and compete when in the same environment. 

Bacteria play a vital role in the oceanic ecosystem. In fact, bacteria are an integral part in many fields of science and could be the key to many important scientific discoveries in the future. We will continue to explore the microbiome of C. prolifera and its natural products