Microbial consortia increase thermal tolerance of corals

Gilbert, Justine A.; Hill, Ross; Doblin, Martina A.; Ralph, Peter J.

doi:10.1007/s00227-012-1967-9

Cited by 38 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…For example, antibiotic treatment of thermally stressed corals caused tissue loss, significant declines in photosynthetic efficiency (Gilbert et al, 2012) and increased coral susceptibility to Vibrio shiloi infection and bleaching (Mills et al, 2013; although see Bellantuono et al, 2012). Furthermore, when corals were subjected to antibiotics and subsequently transplanted back onto the reef, those corals bleached and eventually died compared with the control corals that did not receive antibiotics (Glasl et al, 2016).…”

Section: Evidence That Coral Microbiomes Mediate Host Resistance To Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coral-associated bacteria can be transferred vertically from parent to larva (Sharp et al, 2012) or they can be horizontally acquired from the environment (Apprill et al, 2009;Sharp et al, 2010), including when adult corals release bacteria (e.g., Altermonas and Roseobacter) as a by-product of broadcast spawning (Ceh et al, 2013b). Although recent research has focused on the role of microbiomes in coral adaptation (Gilbert et al, 2012;Glasl et al, 2016), coral reef management still largely ignores the role of microbial communities, with the exception of Symbiodinium, in coral resilience . With rapid advances in DNA sequencing technologies, more studies are able to capture the influence of stressors on the coral microbiome, but no study to date has reviewed these impacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of Coral-Associated Bacterial Communities to Local and Global Stressors

et al. 2017

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The microbial contribution to ecological resilience is still largely overlooked in coral reef ecology. Coral-associated bacteria serve a wide variety of functional roles with reference to the coral host, and thus, the composition of the overall microbiome community can strongly influence coral health and survival. Here, we synthesize the findings of recent studies (n = 45) that evaluated the impacts of the top three stressors facing coral reefs (climate change, water pollution and overfishing) on coral microbiome community structure and diversity. Contrary to the species losses that are typical of many ecological communities under stress, here we show that microbial richness tends to be higher rather than lower for stressed corals (i.e., in ∼60% of cases), regardless of the stressor. Microbial responses to stress were taxonomically consistent across stressors, with specific taxa typically increasing in abundance (e.g

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Section: Evidence That Coral Microbiomes Mediate Host Resistance To Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of Coral-Associated Bacterial Communities to Local and Global Stressors

et al. 2017

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“…For example, corals that maintain or acquire thermotolerant strains of the symbiotic alga Symbiodinium have a lower risk of bleaching and mortality in response to fluctuating water temperatures (Pettay et al 2015), and disrupting coral microbiomes with antibiotics can increase tissue loss in response to temperature stress (Gilbert et al 2012). It is thus worrisome that microbial dysbiosis (i.e., a shift to higher abundances of harmful microbes or lower abundances of beneficial microbes) is becoming more common on degraded reefs (Dinsdale et al 2008, Dinsdale & Rohwer 2011) and may render corals more susceptible to bleaching and mortality (Ritchie 2006, Harvell et al 2007, Rosenberg et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational effects of macroalgae on a reef coral: major declines in larval survival but subtle changes in microbiomes

Beatty

Clements

Stewart

et al. 2018

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Tropical reefs are shifting from coral to macroalgal dominance, with macroalgae suppressing coral recovery, potentially via effects on coral microbiomes. Understanding how macroalgae affect corals and their microbiomes requires comparing algae- versus coral-dominated reefs without confounding aspects of time and geography. We compared survival, settlement, and post-settlement survival of larvae, as well as the microbiomes of larvae and adults, of the Pacific coral Pocillopora damicornis between an Marine Protected Area (MPA) dominated by corals versus an adjacent fished area dominated by macroalgae. Microbiome composition in adult coral, larval coral, and seawater did not differ between the MPA and fished area. However, microbiomes of adult coral were more variable in the fished area and Vibrionaceae bacteria, including strains most closely related to the pathogen Vibrio shilonii, were significantly enriched, but rare, in adult and larval coral from the fished area. Larvae from the macroalgae-dominated area exhibited higher pre-settlement mortality and reduced settlement compared to those from the coral-dominated area. Juveniles planted into a coral-dominated area survived better than those placed into a fished area dominated by macroalgae. Differential survival depended on whether macroalgae were immediately adjacent to juvenile coral rather than on traits of the areas per se. Contrary to our expectations, coral microbiomes were relatively uniform at the community level despite dramatic differences in macroalgal cover between the MPA (~2% cover) and fished (~90%) area. Reducing macroalgae may elicit declines in rare but potentially harmful microbes in coral and their larvae, as well as positive intergenerational effects on offspring survival.

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“…Initially used widely for soil microbial analysis (N83% of papers using Biolog methods published prior to June 2001), Biolog MicroPlates are now used with a variety of different inoculums (Choi and Dobbs, 1999;Preston-Mafham et al, 2002). Specifically, their use in estuarine and ocean sciences has increased in recent years (Lyons et al, 2010;Sala et al, 2010;Gilbert et al, 2012;Mouchet et al, 2012). Because of their growing use, ensuring the accuracy and validity of data gathered from EcoPlates is essential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%