Coral mucus-associated bacteria: a possible first line of defense

Shnit-Orland, Maya; Kushmaro, Ariel

doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00644.x

Cited by 311 publications

(254 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The diversity of microbial communities associated with corals and sponges is known to be influenced by host interactions (Wegley et al, 2007;Kimes et al, 2010;Raina et al, 2010;Fan et al, 2012), the production of antimicrobial compounds (Ritchie, 2006;Shnit-Orland and Kushmaro, 2009) and environmental conditions (Hong et al, 2009;Ceh et al, 2011). Recent studies, however, indicate that other members of the coral holobiont (in particular Symbiodinium dinoflagellates) also influence microbial community structure through release of complex carbon-containing exudates including dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP; Ikeda and Miyachi, 1995;Raina et al, 2009Raina et al, , 2010.…”

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confidence: 99%

Coral reef invertebrate microbiomes correlate with the presence of photosymbionts

et al. 2013

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Coral reefs provide habitat for an array of marine invertebrates that host symbiotic microbiomes. Photosynthetic symbionts including Symbiodinium dinoflagellates and diatoms potentially influence the diversity of their host-associated microbiomes by releasing carbon-containing photosynthates and other organic compounds that fuel microbial metabolism. Here we used 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon pyrosequencing to characterise the microbiomes of 11 common Great Barrier Reef marine invertebrate species that host photosynthetic symbionts and five taxa in which they are absent. The presence of photosynthetic symbionts influenced the composition but not the species richness, evenness and phylogenetic diversity of invertebrateassociated microbiomes. Invertebrates without photosynthetic symbionts were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, whereas those hosting photosynthetic symbionts were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria. Interestingly, many microbial species from photosymbiont-bearing invertebrates, including Oceanospirillales spp., Alteromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Halomonas spp., are implicated in the metabolism of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). DMSP is produced in high concentrations by photosynthetic dinoflagellates and is involved in climate regulation by facilitating cloud formation. Microbiomes correlated with host taxa and replicate individuals from most sampled species grouped in distance-based redundancy analysis of retrieved 16S rRNA gene sequences. This study highlights the complex nature of invertebrate holobionts and confirms the importance of photosynthetic symbionts in structuring marine invertebrate bacterial communities.

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confidence: 99%

Coral reef invertebrate microbiomes correlate with the presence of photosymbionts

et al. 2013

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“…One of the important traits that is thought to be contributed by the microbial community and can influence the coral host is the production of antibacterial agents (Kelman et al, 2006;Nithyanand and Pandian, 2009;Rypien et al, 2009;Shnit-Orland and Kushmaro, 2009). We examined the ability of the isolated bacterial community to produce antibacterial activity against five bacterial species (including a coral bleaching pathogen) and detected an increase from 17 to 42% in the percent of coral bacteria showing antibacterial activity following a decrease in pH.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To examine the antibacterial activity of isolated bacteria from each pH, a recently established screening method was used (Shnit-Orland and Kushmaro, 2009). The antibacterial activity of 165 isolates was tested against five indicator strains (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, as well as the coral pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus).…”

Section: Diversity Of the Culturable Bacterial Communities And Their mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, most reports on coral-bacterial interactions have focused on pathogens (reviewed in Harvell et al, 2007). However most bacterial-coral associations are likely to be advantageous, providing essential nutrients for the coral host (for example, nitrogen) (Wegley et al, 2007;Siboni et al, 2008;Rypien et al, 2009;Vega-Thurber et al, 2009) or protecting the coral from infection by producing antimicrobial agents that restrict the growth of potential pathogens (Loya et al, 2001;Ritchie, 2006;Shnit-Orland and Kushmaro, 2009). An interesting hypothesis that was recently presented, and that took into consideration the dynamic relationship between symbiotic microorganisms and corals under different environmental conditions, is the coral probiotic hypothesis (Reshef et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of reduced pH on the microbial community of the coral Acropora eurystoma

et al. 2010

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Rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are acidifying the world's oceans. Surface seawater pH is 0.1 units lower than pre-industrial values and is predicted to decrease by up to 0.4 units by the end of the century. This change in pH may result in changes in the physiology of ocean organisms, in particular, organisms that build their skeletons/shells from calcium carbonate, such as corals. This physiological change may also affect other members of the coral holobiont, for example, the microbial communities associated with the coral, which in turn may affect the coral physiology and health. In the present study, we examined changes in bacterial communities in the coral mucus, tissue and skeleton following exposure of the coral Acropora eurystoma to two different pH conditions: 7.3 and 8.2 (ambient seawater). The microbial community was different at the two pH values, as determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Further analysis of the community in the corals maintained at the lower pH revealed an increase in bacteria associated with diseased and stressed corals, such as Vibrionaceae and Alteromonadaceae. In addition, an increase in the number of potential antibacterial activity was recorded among the bacteria isolated from the coral maintained at pH 7.3. Taken together, our findings highlight the impact that changes in the pH may have on the coral-associated bacterial community and their potential contribution to the coral host.

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“…Coral fungi were long believed to be parasitic to the coral itself (Kendrick et al, 1982) or to endolithic algae within the coral skeleton (Priess et al, 2000). More recent hypotheses portray coral fungi as potentially mutualistic; either protecting the holobiont from infection and disease (Rohwer et al, 2002;Reshef et al, 2006;Shnit Orland and Kushmaro, 2009), or else by cycling recalcitrant nitrogen molecules for uptake by the Symbiodinium (Wegley et al, 2007). Alternatively, coral fungi may span a continuum from mutualist to commensalist to parasite depending on environmental context and overall coral health (Le Campion-Alsumard et al, 1995;Bentis et al, 2000;Golubic et al, 2005;Wegley et al, 2007;Lesser et al, 2007a;Thurber et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coral-associated marine fungi form novel lineages and heterogeneous assemblages

Amend

Barshis²,

Oliver³

2011

The ISME Journal

141

100

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Coral stress tolerance is intricately tied to the animal's association with microbial symbionts. The most well-known of these symbioses is that between corals and their dinoflagellate photobionts (Symbiodinium spp.), whose genotype indirectly affects whether a coral can survive cyclical and anthropogenic warming events. Fungi comprise a lesser-known coral symbiotic community whose taxonomy, stability and function is largely un-examined. To assess how fungal communities inside a coral host correlate with water temperature and the genotype of co-occurring Symbiodinium, we sampled Acropora hyacinthus coral colonies from adjacent natural pools with different water temperatures and Symbiodinium identities. Phylogenetic analysis of coral-associated fungal ribosomal DNA amplicons showed a high diversity of Basidiomycetes and Ascomycetes, including several clades separated from known fungal taxa by long and well-supported branches. Community similarity did not correlate with any measured variables, and total fungal community composition was highly variable among A. hyacinthus coral colonies. Colonies in the warmer pool contained more phylogenetically diverse fungal communities than the colder pool and contained statistically significant 'indicator' species. Four taxa were present in all coral colonies sampled, and may represent obligate associates. Messenger RNA sequenced from a subset of these same colonies contained an abundance of transcripts involved in metabolism of complex biological molecules. Coincidence between the taxonomic diversity found in the DNA and RNA analysis indicates a metabolically active and diverse resident marine fungal community.

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Coral mucus-associated bacteria: a possible first line of defense

Cited by 311 publications

References 33 publications

Coral reef invertebrate microbiomes correlate with the presence of photosymbionts

Coral reef invertebrate microbiomes correlate with the presence of photosymbionts

The impact of reduced pH on the microbial community of the coral Acropora eurystoma

Coral-associated marine fungi form novel lineages and heterogeneous assemblages

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