Local genomic adaptation of coral reef-associated microbiomes to gradients of natural variability and anthropogenic stressors

Abstract

Significance Microbial communities associated with coral reefs influence the health and sustenance of keystone benthic organisms (e.g., coral holobionts). The present study investigated the community structure and metabolic potential of microbes inhabiting coral reefs located across an extensive area in the central Pacific. We found that the taxa present correlated strongly with the percent coverage of corals and algae, while community metabolic potential correlated best with geographic location. These findings are inconsistent with prevailing biogeographic models of microbial diversity (e.g., distance decay) and metabolic potential (i.e., similar functional profiles regardless of phylogenetic variability). Based on these findings, we propose that the primary carbon sources determine community structure and that local biogeochemistry determines finer-scale metabolic function.

Energetic differences between bacterioplankton trophic groups and coral reef resistance

“…[54] also estimated the composition of natural reef-associated microbial communities and found that uninhabited reefs associated with a higher per cent cover of reef-building calcifiers were characterized by higher abundances of cyanobacteria [54]. In this study, we found no evidence linking the relative abundance of cyanobacterial sequences obtained from publically available microbial metagenomes to the NCEAS human impact score (methods described in Knowles et al [62]).…”

“…There is a clear relationship between changing numbers and biomass of water-column microbes and the makeup of the benthos (e.g. microbialization); however, microbes in the water column are very different in terms of types and metabolic potential than those on the benthic surface [7,53,54]. The work presented here takes a more in depth look at microbes in the water column on coral reefs experiencing different levels of microbialization.…”

Metagenomic covariation along densely sampled environmental gradients in the Red Sea

“…For example, in a similarly sized dataset on reef-associated microbes, the best parameter explained only 15% of taxonomic variation and 18% of metabolic variation (Kelly et al, 2014). Variations in water column microbial communities appear easier to predict.…”

Unsustainable Land Use, Sediment-Laden Runoff, and Chronic Raw Sewage Offset the Benefits of Coral Reef Ecosystems in a No-Take Marine Protected Area

“…Coral-associated microbial community is highly dynamic, with seasonal fluctuations (Kimes, Johnson, Torralba, Nelson et al, 2013), but can suffer significant phase shifts throughout environmental stress gradients (Dinsdale, Pantos, Smriga, Edwards et al, 2008;Kelly, Williams, Barott, Carlson et al, 2014), and with eutrophication (Kline, Kuntz, Breitbart, Knowlton et al, 2006), bleaching and disease (Sekar, Kaczmarsky, & Richardson, 2008;Mao-Jones, Ritchie, Jones, & Ellner, 2010;Mouchka, Hewson, & Harvell, 2010), and sea surface warming trends (Tracy, Koren, Douglas, Weil et al, 2015). A significant interaction between macroalgal and turf proliferation, and microbial impacts to Caribbean corals corals Orbicella annularis (Barott, Rodrí guez-Mueller, Youle, Marhaver, 2012) and Porites astreoides (Vega-Thurber, Burkepile, Correa, Thurber et al, 2012) was also documented.…”