Folliculinid ciliates: a new threat to Caribbean corals?

Cróquer, Aldo; Bastidas, Carolina; Lipscomb, Diana

doi:10.3354/dao069075

Cited by 56 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…2004;Winkler et al 2004). In contrast, the prevalence of the Caribbean ciliates appears to be higher in oceanic versus coastal human-influenced reefs (Croquer et al 2006a). SEB has been shown to produce tissue mortality in the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef corals, with rates of tissue mortality varying from 0.1 to 1 mm d _1 for the former (Antonius and Lipscomb 2001) and from 2 to 3 mm d" 1 for the latter (Page and Willis 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…SEB had not, however, been reported in the Caribbean (Antonius andLipscomb 2001) until recently, when Croquer et al (2006a, b) found a folliculinid ciliate interacting with over 25 scleractinian coral species. Ciliates examined from different localities in the Caribbean seem to belong to a unique species (Croquer et al 2006a) that has yet to be named, whereas ciliates affecting Indo-Pacific corals are classified as Halofolliculina corallasia (Antonius and Lipscomb 2001). Thus, due to the apparent differences in etiology, the present study does not refer to the Caribbean Halofolliculina infection as SEB.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Effective transmission of these protozoans is enhanced by the presence of injuries in healthy corals. The high prevalence and widespread distribution of ciliate infection in Caribbean coral reefs (Croquer et al 2006a), its rapid transmission, and the fast rates of tissue mortality on infected hosts suggest that CCI represents another problem for Caribbean corals. The mechanisms producing tissue mortality and the role of ciliates (alone or in a microbial consortium) in the development of coral pathogenesis must be further investigated.…”

Section: Environmental Factors Affecting Ciliate Infection Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A mechanism of transmission and factors affecting coral susceptibility to Halofolliculina sp. infection

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anecdotal evidence collected since 2004 suggests that infections caused by ciliates in the genus Halofolliculina may be related to coral mortality in more than 25 scleractinian species in the Caribbean. However, the relationship between the presence of ciliates and coral mortality has not yet been firmly established. Field and laboratory manipulations were used to test if ciliate infections harm corals, if ciliates are able to infect healthy colonies, and if coral susceptibility to ciliate infection depends on temperature, depth, distance to an infected colony, and the presence of injuries. Ciliate infections were always characterized by a visually detectable front of ciliates located on recently exposed coral skeletons. These infections altered the normal structure of the colony by causing tissue mortality (0.8 ± 0.95 cm month -1 , mean ± iSZ>) and by delaying or preventing recovery from injuries. Under laboratory conditions, ciliates transmitted directly and horizontally from infected to healthy hosts, and coral susceptibility to ciliate infections increased with the presence of injuries. After invasion, the ciliate population grew, rapidly and after 8 d, produced tissue mortality on 32% of newly infected hosts. Thus, our results support the existence of a new Caribbean coral syndrome that is associated with tissue mortality, is infectious, and transmits directly and horizontally. Even though the role of ciliates in the development of lesions on coral tissues remains unclear, their presence is by far the

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Environmental Factors Affecting Ciliate Infection Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A mechanism of transmission and factors affecting coral susceptibility to Halofolliculina sp. infection

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Folliculinids are a particular group of sessile ciliates within the Family Folliculinidae (class Heterotrichea) easily recognized by their vase-shaped chitin tubes (lorica) and peristomal lobes (arm-like extensions typical to folliculinid ciliates), which are thought to be used for feeding (e.g., Andrews, 1920Andrews, , 1923Mathews, 1964Mathews, , 1968Lynn, 2008). These ciliates are found in non-chemosynthetic coastal marine habitats (e.g., Fauré-Fremiet, 1936;Das, 1949;Mathews, 1964Mathews, , 1968Ji et al, 2004) and are known to colonize a variety of substrates including oyster and mussel shells (Mathews, 1968;Toupoint et al, 2012), serpulid polychaete worm tubes (Mathews, 1964), crayfish (Jaszczolt and Szaniawsk, 2007), wood (Mathews, 1964), coral skeletons (Cróquer et al, 2006), and even artificial substrates (Ji et al, 2004). Their presence in chemosynthetic ecosystems was first discovered at hydrothermal vents in the 1980's (Tunnicliffe et al, 1985;Van Dover et al, 1988), but their abundance and ecological importance was only more recently recognized (Kouris et al, 2007(Kouris et al, , 2010.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonial Tube-Dwelling Ciliates Influence Methane Cycling and Microbial Diversity within Methane Seep Ecosystems

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In a variety of marine ecosystems, microbial eukaryotes play important ecological roles; however, our knowledge of their importance in deep-sea methane seep ecosystems is limited. Microbial eukaryotes have the potential to influence microbial community composition and diversity by creating habitat heterogeneity, and may contribute to carbon cycling through grazing or symbiotic associations with microorganisms. In this study, we characterized the distribution, substrate variability and ecology of a particular group of microbial eukaryotes, known as folliculinid ciliates, at methane seeps along the eastern Pacific margin. Folliculinid ciliates were recently recognized as an abundant and ecologically important component of hydrothermal vent ecosystems, but their ecology in methane seeps has not been examined. Folliculinid ciliates inhabited methane seeps from Costa Rica to Oregon, suggesting a broad distribution in the eastern Pacific. Using phylogenetic analyses of the 18S rRNA gene, two different species of folliculinid were identified and are formally described here. Folliculinids occupied a range of physical substrates, including authigenic carbonate rocks, shells of dead vesicomyid clams, polychaete tubes and gastropod shells. Molecular analysis of the folliculinid-associated microorganisms (16S rRNA and particular methane monoxygenase) revealed that these ciliates not only influence overall microbial diversity, but also have a specific relationship with bacteria in the "Deep sea-2" methanotroph clade. Natural 13 δ C isotope signatures of the folliculinids (−35 ) and their 13 C-enrichment patterns in shipboard 13 CH 4 stable isotope-probing experiments indicated these ciliates and their associated microbes are involved in cycling methane-derived carbon. Folliculinids were significantly enriched in 13 C after the addition of 13 CH 4 over short-term (3-8 day) incubations. Together, these results suggest that folliculinid ciliates represent a previously overlooked contributor to the ecology and biogeochemical cycling at deep-sea methane seep ecosystems.

show abstract

“…These measurements were combined with oxygen microelectrodes (25, 53) to assess the photosynthetic competency of zooxanthellae of corals affected with BrB. The combination of their fast response times, small tip diameters, and extremely small oxygen consumption means that O 2 microsensors are able to measure rapid changes in oxygen depletion as well as microprofiling of the diffusion boundary layer (DBL) (required to measure net photosynthesis and dark-respiration rates) at a spatial resolution of better than 100 m and with response times of Ͻ0.2 to 0.5 s (26,40,53).Only a limited number of studies have examined coral-protozoan associations (1,2,7,29,30,47,56). In this study, we compare the photosynthetic performances of zooxanthellae in healthy tissue preceding the brown band zone and within ciliates accumulating in the brown band zone of affected Acropora muricata corals.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Zooxanthellae Harvested by Ciliates Associated with Brown Band Syndrome of Corals Remain Photosynthetically Competent

Ulstrup

Kühl

Bourne

2007

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brown band syndrome is a new coral affliction characterized by a local accumulation of yet-unidentified ciliates migrating as a band along the branches of coral colonies. In the current study, morphologically intact zooxanthellae ‫؍(‬ Symbiodinium) were observed in great numbers inside the ciliates (>50 dinoflagellates per ciliate). Microscale oxygen measurements and variable chlorophyll a fluorescence analysis along with microscopic observations demonstrated that zooxanthellae within the ciliates are photosynthetically competent and do not become compromised during the progression of the brown band zone. Zooxanthellae showed similar trends in light acclimation in a comparison of rapid light curve and steady-state light curve measures of variable chlorophyll a fluorescence. Extended light exposure of steady-state light curves resulted in higher quantum yields of photosystem II. The brown band tissue exhibited higher photosynthetically active radiation absorptivity, indicating more efficient light absorption due to a higher density of zooxanthellae in the ciliatedominated zone. This caused relatively higher gross photosynthesis rates in the zone with zooxanthellacontaining ciliates compared to healthy coral tissue. The observation of photosynthetically active intracellular zooxanthellae in the ciliates suggests that the latter can benefit from photosynthates produced by ingested zooxanthellae and from photosynthetic oxygen production that alleviates diffusion limitation of oxic respiration in the densely populated brown band tissue. It remains to be shown whether the zooxanthellae form a stable symbiotic association with the ciliate or are engulfed incidentally during grazing on coral tissue and then maintained as active inside the ciliate for a period before being digested and replaced by new zooxanthellae.A recently identified coral disease, brown band syndrome (BrB), was described for the first time in three coral families (Acroporidae, Pocilloporidae, and Faviidae) in the northern and southern sectors of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia (55). Macroscopic symptoms of the syndrome manifest as a brown zone on the coral preceded by healthy tissue and followed by exposed white skeleton (see Fig. 1A). Sometimes, a white zone is observed between the brown band and healthy tissue which may comprise bleached tissue and/or denuded skeleton (55). Microscopic investigations of the brown zone revealed the massive presence of an unknown protozoan ciliate which accumulates zooxanthellae intracellularly, resulting in the characteristic brown coloring of the observed syndrome. The ciliate band has been observed to migrate along the length of branching corals from base to tip at a rapid rate (Ͼ5 cm per day [B. Willis, personal communication]). The ciliates appear to ingest coral tissue at the lesion interface, accumulating the symbiotic dinoflagellates, known as zooxanthellae (ϭ Symbiodinium), from the coral endoderm. However, it is unknown whether the zooxanthellae remain photosynthetically active inside the ciliates.I...

show abstract

Folliculinid ciliates: a new threat to Caribbean corals?

Cited by 56 publications

References 12 publications

A mechanism of transmission and factors affecting coral susceptibility to Halofolliculina sp. infection

A mechanism of transmission and factors affecting coral susceptibility to Halofolliculina sp. infection

Colonial Tube-Dwelling Ciliates Influence Methane Cycling and Microbial Diversity within Methane Seep Ecosystems

Zooxanthellae Harvested by Ciliates Associated with Brown Band Syndrome of Corals Remain Photosynthetically Competent

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About