Successive shifts in the microbial community of the surface mucus layer and tissues of the coral Acropora muricata under thermal stress

The coral mucus may harbor commensal bacteria that inhibit growth of pathogens. Therefore, there is a need to understand the dynamics of bacterial communities between the coral mucus and tissues. Nubbins of Acropora muricata were subjected to increasing water temperatures of 26°C–33°C, to simultaneo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEMS microbiology ecology 2015-12, Vol.91 (12), p.1
Main Authors: Lee, Sonny T. M., Davy, Simon K., Tang, Sen-Lin, Fan, Tung-Yung, Kench, Paul S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Acropora muricata
Alphaproteobacteria - classification
Alphaproteobacteria - genetics
Alphaproteobacteria - isolation & purification
Animals
Anthozoa - microbiology
Bacteria
Bacteria - classification
Bacteria - genetics
Bacteria - isolation & purification
Biodiversity
Bleaching
Communities
Corals
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria - classification
Cyanobacteria - genetics
Cyanobacteria - isolation & purification
Dinoflagellates
Dinoflagellida - classification
Dinoflagellida - genetics
Dinoflagellida - isolation & purification
Ecology
Environmental aspects
Flavobacteriaceae - classification
Flavobacteriaceae - genetics
Flavobacteriaceae - isolation & purification
Gammaproteobacteria - classification
Gammaproteobacteria - genetics
Gammaproteobacteria - isolation & purification
Gene sequencing
Harbors
Hot Temperature
Microbial colonies
Microbial Consortia - genetics
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Mucus
Mucus - microbiology
Photochemicals
Physiological aspects
Proteobacteria
Relative abundance
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
rRNA 16S
Stress, Physiological
Symbiosis - physiology
Thermal stress
Tissues
Verrucomicrobia - classification
Verrucomicrobia - genetics
Verrucomicrobia - isolation & purification
Vibrio
Vibrio - classification
Vibrio - genetics
Vibrio - isolation & purification
Water temperature
Waterborne diseases
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The coral mucus may harbor commensal bacteria that inhibit growth of pathogens. Therefore, there is a need to understand the dynamics of bacterial communities between the coral mucus and tissues. Nubbins of Acropora muricata were subjected to increasing water temperatures of 26°C–33°C, to simultaneously explore the bacterial diversity in coral mucus and tissues by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Photochemical efficiency of symbiotic dinoflagellates within the corals declined above 31°C. Both the mucus and tissues of healthy A. muricata were dominated by γ-Proteobacteria, but under thermal stress there was a shift towards bacteria from the Verrucomicrobiaceae and α-Proteobacteria. Members of Cyanobacteria, Flavobacteria and Sphingobacteria also become more prominent at higher temperatures. The relative abundance of Vibrio spp. in the coral mucus increased at 29°C, but at 31°C, there was a drop in the relative abundance of Vibrio spp. in the mucus, with a reciprocal increase in the tissues. On the other hand, during bleaching, the relative abundance of Endozoicomonas spp. decreased in the tissues with a reciprocal increase in the mucus. This is the first systematic experiment that shows the potential for a bacterial community shift between the coral surface mucus and tissues in a thermally stressed coral. This study provided evidence for a change in the relative abundance of commensal and potentially pathogenic bacteria in both the surface mucus layer and tissues of corals in response to stress.
ISSN:1574-6941
0168-6496
1574-6941
DOI:10.1093/femsec/fiv142