**Author details**

and proteolytic activity within the snail were predominately exhibited in active stage only indicating the transient nature of these bacteria, that is being ingested with the food from the environment thereby augmenting and improving digestion processes [65]. However, proteo‐ lytic bacteria were completely absent during hibernation, aestivation and in juvenile stages.

In *H. pomatia*, *γ*‐proteobacteria and α‐proteobacteria were the most abundant classes in all populations of snails. Only one phylotype of firmicutes has been reported during hibernation of snail populations. In non‐hibernating snails, firmicutes were found only in the proximal intestine and digestive gland. In active snails, firmicutes were observed in distal intestine, with Mollicute specimen established abundantly in all three gut regions. However, they were restricted to the distal intestine and digestive gland at the beginning of hibernation [131].

The changes in the pH of the gut have serious effects on the microbial community. During anaerobioses, these bacteria in turn change the pH of the gut through fermentative reac‐ tions [119] producing end products that affect the acid‐base balance of the digestive tract. But Churchill and Storey [134] postulated that in dormant snails, there is no accumulation of

Besides all these functions that are contributed by the bacteria to their hosts, they also influ‐ ence cold hardiness in their hosts. In snails such as *H. pomatia* and *C. aspersum,* the gut bacteria participate in ice‐nucleating activity thereby reducing the cold hardiness in these snails [131, 135]. *H. pomatia* is known to decrease its supercooling point ca. by 3°, from –2 during its active state to –7°C in hibernation depending on the geographic location [136]. Lastly, enzymes secreted by the gut microbial community are very suitable for various biotechnological appli‐ cations within the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries along with detoxification of

In conclusion, snails present a vast diversity among mollusks with inherent industrial impor‐ tance. Snails provide benefits not only as food for humans but are also routinely used in agri‐ culture for the control of many insect pests. Though there are pros and cons associated with mollusks, a key need is better knowledge of the basic biology of these useful animals, with rigorous documentation of their habitats for the possible conservation. Little is known about the composition of snail micro‐biota because a large number of species have been underesti‐ mated. Understanding the microbial ecology of snails may illustrate many useful processes like development of medicines from mucus or utilization of gut symbionts to challenge the emerging issues of environmental pollution and energy crisis. There is a dire need to explore more and more diversity of microbes that is encrypted in extreme environments like diges‐ tive tracts of snails. To accomplish this, many advanced techniques like high throughput next generation sequences (NGSs) along with other metagenomic techniques can be employed to

Mudasir A. Dar acknowledges UGC, New Delhi, India, for providing the Maulana Azad

The hibernation was marked with the decline of cellulolytic bacteria.

end‐products (lactate and succinate) in dormant snails.

unleash the role of these microbes in the host physiology.

many hazardous chemicals.

206 Organismal and Molecular Malacology

**Acknowledgements**

National fellowship.

Mudasir A. Dar1 , Kiran D. Pawar2 and Radhakrishna S. Pandit1 \*

\*Address all correspondence to: rspandit@unipune.ac.in

1 Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind, Pune, Maharashtra, India

2 School of Nanoscience and Biotechnology, Shivaji University, Vidyanagar, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
