Changes in the bacterial community associated with black band disease in a Red Sea coral, Favia sp., in relation to disease phases

Abstract

Changes of the black band disease (BBD)-associated microbial consortium on the surface of a Favia sp. coral colony were assessed in relation to the different disease phases. A number of highly active bacterial groups changed in numbers as the BBD disease signs changed. These included Gamma-and Epsilonproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes groups. One cyanobacterium strain, BGP10_4ST (FJ210722), was constantly present in the disease interface and adjacent tissues of the affected corals, regardless of disease phase. The dynamics of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of this BBD-specific strain provide a marker regarding the disease phase. The disease's active phase is characterized by a wide dark band progressing along the tissue-skeleton interface and by numerous bacterial OTUs. Cyanobacterial OTUs decreased in numbers as the disease signs waned, perhaps opening a niche for additional microorganisms. Even when black band signs disappeared there was a consistent though low abundance of the BBDspecific cyanobacteria (BGP10_4S T ), and the microbial community of the disease-skeleton interface remained surprisingly similar to the original band community. These results provide an indication that the persistence of even low numbers of this BBD-specific cyanobacterium in coral tissues during the non-active (or subclinical) state could facilitate reinitiation of BBD signs during the following summer. This may indicate that this bacterium is major constituent of the disease and that its persistence and ability to infiltrate the coral tissues may act to facilitate the assembly of the other BBD-specific groups of bacteria. KEY WORDS: Coral · Black band disease · Cyanobacteria · Microbiota · Red Sea Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 116: [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] 2015 Coral black band disease (BBD) was the first coral disease to be documented, affecting a number of corals on the reefs worldwide (Antonius 1973, Garrett & Ducklow 1975. Four decades later, BBD is considered a well described but, as yet, unresolved disease plaguing stony corals (Antonius 1985, AlMoghrabi 2001, Dinsdale 2002, Willis et al. 2004. To date, a primary pathogen has not been characterized for this disease, and it is thought to be caused by a complex and diverse microbial consortium with regional specificity (Carlton & Richardson 1995, Richardson 2004, Barneah et al. 2007, Arotsker et al. 2009, Aeby et al. 2015. Environmental parameters, such as water depth and clarity, as well as water temperature, have been correlated with this disease's prevalence and dispersal (Miller & Richardson 2015), though the roles of these parameters are as yet unclear (Rützler et al. 1983, Kuta & Richardson 2002, Zvuloni et al. 2009, Krediet et al. 2013). For example, Sato et al. (2011) found that high light intensity (440 µmol m −2 s −1 ) significantly enhanced BBD progression in the coral Montipora hispida, while high temperatures were not found to statistically signifi...

Metaproteomics reveals metabolic transitions between healthy and diseased stony coral Mussismilia braziliensis

“…Cyanobacterial C‐phycoerythrin and phycobilisome were also highly expressed molecules in BBD Favia (Arotsker et al . ,b). Additionally, high nitrogen fixation activity is demanded as a result of high CO 2 fixation in microbial mats (Herbert ; Stal et al .…”

“…; Arotsker et al . ,b). Large amounts of organic matter produced and released by cyanobacteria inside microbial mats serve as substrate for a variety of heterotrophic bacteria, leading to anaerobiosis (Stal et al .…”

Novel T4 bacteriophages associated with black band disease in corals

“…In agreement with previous studies (Casamatta et al ., ; Cooney et al ., ; Arotsker et al ., ; Klaus et al ., ), bacterial taxa known to associate with BBD, such as Desulfovibrio and Oscillatoria ( Roseofilum ) cyanobacteria, were significantly more prevalent in BBD compared with healthy tissue samples (Fig. A, adjusted p ‐values in Table ).…”

Low pH reduces the virulence of black band disease on Orbicella faveolata

“…In the present study, the Oscillatoriophycideae class primarily consisted of the cyanobacteria genus Roseofilum (previously named Oscillatoria ), which dominates the black band disease mat [54]. Arotsker et al [55] showed that the most transcribed gene in the band consortium was cyanobacterial adenosylhomocysteinase, which is involved in cyanotoxin production and is a large contributor to the virulence of black band disease [56–58]. The cyanobacteria found within black band are indeed interacting with a complex community of other microorganisms [1,8,59].…”