The use of cellular diagnostics for identifying sub-lethal stress in reef corals

Downs, Craig A.; Ostrander, Gary K.; Rougée, L.; Rongo, Teina; Knutson, Sean; Williams, David E.; Mendiola, Wendy; Holbrook, Jackalyn; Richmond, Robert H.

doi:10.1007/s10646-011-0837-4

Cited by 45 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…We have shown that Hsp70 has the ability to respond to an abiotic stressor (low DO concentration) within two weeks, even in relatively stress-tolerant bivalves [61], prior to detectable effects on growth or survival. Understanding sublethal stress to predict and avoid species loss has broad applications, and has been identified as important to management of communities from recreational fisheries to coral reefs as well as to contaminant monitoring [62]–[64]. Our data support the idea that protein biomarkers, measured in sentinel species such as oysters, provide a promising approach to identify suitable sites for restoration, particularly to capture negative effects of habitat quality on biota before lethal impacts are incurred.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Biomarkers of Dissolved Oxygen Stress in Oysters: A Tool for Restoration and Management Efforts

2014

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The frequency and intensity of anoxic and hypoxic events are increasing worldwide, creating stress on the organisms that inhabit affected waters. To understand the effects of low dissolved oxygen stress on oysters, hatchery-reared oysters were placed in cages and deployed along with continuously recording environmental data sondes at a reef site in Mobile Bay, AL that typically experiences low oxygen conditions. To detect and measure sublethal stress, we measured growth and survival of oysters as well as expression of three biomarkers, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) and phospho-p38 MAP kinase, in tissues from juvenile and adult oysters. Survival rates were high for both juvenile and adult oysters. Expression levels of each of the 3 isoforms of HSP 70 were negatively correlated to dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, suggesting that HSP 70 is useful to quantify sublethal effects of DO stress. Results for HIF and phospho-p38 MAP kinase were inconclusive. Test deployments of oysters to assess expression of HSP 70 relative to environmental conditions will be useful, in addition to measuring abiotic factors, to identify appropriate sites for restoration, particularly to capture negative effects of habitat quality on biota before lethal impacts are incurred.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Biomarkers of Dissolved Oxygen Stress in Oysters: A Tool for Restoration and Management Efforts

2014

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“…Since the earliest steps of an organism's response to any environmental stress occur at the cellular level (Kultz 2005), a useful diagnostic tool can be represented by the analysis of the expression of cellular stress molecular biomarkers that reflect changes in the cellular structural integrity and in the functional cellular pathways and performance (Downs 2005). Such an approach has been successfully applied in corals subjected to several abiotic stresses (Downs et al , 2009(Downs et al , 2012Brown et al 2002;Downs and Downs 2007;Rougee et al 2006;Fitt et al 2009;Kenkel et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cellular stress response of the scleractinian coral Goniopora columna during the progression of the black band disease

Seveso

Montano

Reggente

et al. 2017

Cell Stress and Chaperones

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Black band disease (BBD) is a widespread coral pathology caused by a microbial consortium dominated by cyanobacteria, which is significantly contributing to the loss of coral cover and diversity worldwide. Since the effects of the BBD pathogens on the physiology and cellular stress response of coral polyps appear almost unknown, the expression of some molecular biomarkers, such as Hsp70, Hsp60, HO-1, and MnSOD, was analyzed in the apparently healthy tissues of Goniopora columna located at different distances from the infection and during two disease development stages. All the biomarkers displayed different levels of expression between healthy and diseased colonies. In the healthy corals, low basal levels were found stable over time in different parts of the same colony. On the contrary, in the diseased colonies, a strong up-regulation of all the biomarkers was observed in all the tissues surrounding the infection, which suffered an oxidative stress probably generated by the alternation, at the progression front of the disease, of conditions of oxygen supersaturation and hypoxia/anoxia, and by the production of the cyanotoxin microcystin by the BBD cyanobacteria. Furthermore, in the infected colonies, the expression of all the biomarkers appeared significantly affected by the development stage of the disease. In conclusion, our approach may constitute a useful diagnostic tool, since the cellular stress response of corals is activated before the pathogens colonize the tissues, and expands the current knowledge of the mechanisms controlling the host responses to infection in corals.

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“…The effects of xenobiotics on the coral animal have been studied in detail, revealing specific genes that respond to heavy metal stress (Morgan et al 2005), oil dispersants, vinblastine (Venn et al 2009), pesticides, and antifouling paints (Downs et al 2012). However, very little is known regarding the influence of xenobiotics on the microbial component of the coral holobiont.…”

Section: Xenobiotic-associated Functional Genesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial functional genes associated with coral health and disease

Pratte¹

2013

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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Both the incidence and prevalence of coral disease are rapidly increasing, and as a consequence, many studies involving coral microbial associates have been conducted. However, very few of these have considered microbial functional genes. This is an underutilized approach for studying coral disease etiology which is capable of revealing the molecular processes of the coral microbial community. This review presents a summary of the known microbial functional genes that have been linked to coral health and disease. Overall functional gene diversity tended to be lower in healthy corals than diseased or bleached corals, and respiration and photosynthesis functional genes appeared to be crucial to coral health. Genes associated with the nitrogen cycle were the most studied, were highly represented within the coral holobiont, and their expression often shifted in diseased or stressed individuals. Carbon metabolism, such as fatty acid and amino acid catabolism, also tended to shift in unhealthy corals. Genes associated with sulfite respiration as well as dimethylsulfoniopropionate degradation have been detected, although they have yet to be directly associated with coral disease. In addition, genes associated with xenobiotic degradation, antibiotic resistance, virulence, and oxidative stress may all be involved in maintaining coral health. However, the links between these functional genes and their roles in interacting with the coral host are not clear. Continuing identification of coral-associated microbial functional genes within the coral holobiont should facilitate advances in the field of coral health and disease. KEY WORDS: Etiology · Biogeochemical cycling · Holobiont · Functional diversity · Antibiotic resistance Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 107: [161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169][170][171] 2013 diversity and the specific microbial habitat in which the bacteria were detected, as there was with functional gene diversity (Dinsdale et al. 2008). In most cases, the taxonomic identification of a microbe does not elucidate its functional role, giving little indication as to a microbe's importance. To complicate matters further, bacterial species with the same 16S rRNA gene sequence may play different roles in an ecosystem . On the other hand, bacterial species with different 16S rRNA gene sequences may be functionally redundant, with more than one taxonomic group satisfying a single niche (Allison & Martiny 2008). For these reasons, it is crucial that studies begin to examine the role that microbes play in coral health and disease, rather than focus on identification of the microbes present. As an example, 'Type A' Gammaproteobacteria have commonly been associated with healthy fragments of the coral Acropora, and it has been proposed that a disruption in this population may alter the entire microbial community (Kvennefors et al. 2010(Kvennefors et al. , 2012 and increase the coral's vulnerability to disease and bleaching. However, ...

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The use of cellular diagnostics for identifying sub-lethal stress in reef corals

Cited by 45 publications

References 51 publications

Biomarkers of Dissolved Oxygen Stress in Oysters: A Tool for Restoration and Management Efforts

Biomarkers of Dissolved Oxygen Stress in Oysters: A Tool for Restoration and Management Efforts

The cellular stress response of the scleractinian coral Goniopora columna during the progression of the black band disease

Microbial functional genes associated with coral health and disease

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