Abstract
Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin produced by certain species of
Pseudo-nitzschia (PSN) that can cause damage to neural
tissues and can be fatal to marine animals. Copepods, direct consumers
of PSN, exhibit remarkable resistance to DA. Given that gut
microbiota facilitate various detoxification processes in copepods, we
hypothesize that gut microbiota may play a crucial role in aiding
copepods in DA detoxification. In this study, we investigated the
detoxification capability of copepod gut microbiota by feeding both
wild-type and gut-microbiota-free Acartia erythraea toxic
PSN. Our results demonstrated that, although DA suppressed the
growth of A. erythraea, the presence of gut microbiota enhanced
the survival of copepods exposed to a DA diet. We subsequently feed
A. erythraea both toxic and non-toxic PSN, and explored
the potential mechanisms of DA detoxification through amplicon and
metatranscriptome approaches. We identified both anaerobic and aerobic
DA detoxification pathways in copepod gut bacteria, mediated by the
genera Aureispira, Tenacibaculum,
Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella, and Vibrio. In the
anaerobic pathway, DA could be biotransformed into detoxification
products through a series of main degradation steps, including
decarboxylation, dehydrogenation, carboxylation, and multiple
β-oxidation processes. In the aerobic pathway, DA undergoes reactions
including hydration, dehydrogenation, hydrolysis, hydroxylation, and
oxidation, resulting in the formation of terminal detoxification
products. Overall, our findings elucidate the mechanisms by which
copepod gut microbiota detoxify DA, thereby advancing our understanding
of copepod resilience in the face of a toxic diet.