Single Cell Analysis Reveals a New Microsporidia-Host Association in a Freshwater Lake

Marina Chauvet (1) , Arthur Monjot (1) , Anne Mone (1) , Cécile Lepère (1)

1 LMGE - Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement

Microsporidia are a large group of obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites. Recent studies suggest that their diversity can be huge in freshwater lake ecosystems especially in the <150 µm size fraction. However, little is known about their hosts and therefore their impact on the trophic food web functioning. In this study, single cell analysis and fluorescence microscopy were used to detect new host-parasite association within rotifer communities in lake Aydat (France). Our analysis showed the existence of a potential new species belonging to the Crispospora genus able of infecting the rotifer Kellicottia with a high prevalence (42.5%) suggesting that Microsporidia could have a great impact on the rotifer populations regulation in lakes.

Mots clés: Microsporidia; host-parasite association; single cell; TSA-FISH; lake; microbial ecology

Domaines: Parasitologie; Biodiversité et Ecologie; Interactions entre organismes

Marina Chauvet, Arthur Monjot, Anne Mone, Cécile Lepère. Single Cell Analysis Reveals a New Microsporidia-Host Association in a Freshwater Lake. Microbial ecology, inPress, ⟨10.1007/s00248-022-02023-7⟩. ⟨hal-03666982⟩