Polar environments, and especially the Arctic, remain largely unexplored due to their extreme conditions and limited accessibility, yet they are under increasing pressure from rapid environmental change and anthropogenic activity. Marine invertebrates in the poles often rely on symbiotic relationships with microbes to survive. This study investigates the diversity and contaminant tolerance of microbial communities associated with two Arctic sponge species, Myxilla sp. and Haliclona sp. A dual approach was used: a metabarcoding-based survey to characterize microbial diversity within sponge tissues, and a cultivation-based assay to assess contaminant tolerance in bacterial isolates from Myxilla sp.
Results reveal that both sponge species harbor distinct microbiomes, different from those found in surrounding water and sediments, and from each other, supporting the idea of species- and environment-specific symbiotic associations. Bacterial isolates from Myxilla sp. showed growth in the presence of tested contaminants, including heavy metals, hydrocarbons, PAHs, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides, highlighting their potential resilience in extreme and polluted environments.
These findings suggest that sponge-associated microbes contribute to host adaptation and survival in extreme polar ecosystems. Furthermore, understanding the structure and functional traits of these symbionts may offer insights into Arctic ecosystem resilience and hold promises for future biotechnological applications, particularly in bioremediation.
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