Behavioral responses to chemical cues by bacteria

Bartlett, Douglas H.; Matsumura, Philip

doi:10.1007/bf01638997

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…These increases in copiotrophic organisms are consistent with the higher concentrations of organic material typically found near the surfaces of corals compared to the surrounding open water [35,[61][62][63][64]. Corals provide a niche enriched in dissolved and particulate organic material [6,15,35,[61][62][63][65][66][67]. For instance, coral mucus and the exudates of Symbiodinium spp.…”

Section: Taxonomysupporting

confidence: 63%

“…It is likely that motility and chemotaxis are particularly important for microbial communities living close to biotic surfaces on coral reefs, where strong chemical gradients are associated with benthic organisms. The chemical products released from corals and algal exudates are often strong chemoattractants for motile marine bacteria [67,[93][94][95]. Coral mucus and the exudates of Symbiodinium are rich in several organic compounds including amino acids, sugars and DMSP [6,63,64,[68][69][70], which are known chemoattractants for marine bacteria [7,53,96], and have recently been shown to attract key coral pathogens [95].…”

Section: Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability in Microbial Community Composition and Function Between Different Niches Within a Coral Reef

et al. 2014

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To explore how microbial community composition and function varies within a coral reef ecosystem, we performed metagenomic sequencing of seawater from four niches across Heron Island Reef, within the Great Barrier Reef. Metagenomes were sequenced from seawater samples associated with (1) the surface of the coral species Acropora palifera, (2) the surface of the coral species Acropora aspera, (3) the sandy substrate within the reef lagoon and (4) open water, outside of the reef crest. Microbial composition and metabolic function differed substantially between the four niches. The taxonomic profile showed a clear shift from an oligot roph-dominated community (e.g. SAR11, Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus) in the open water and sandy substrate niches, to a community characterised by an increased frequency of copiotrophic bacteria (e.g. Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas, Alteromonas) in the coral seawater niches. The metabolic potential of the four microbial assemblages also displayed significant differences, with the open water and sandy substrate niches dominated by genes associated with core house-keeping processes such as amino acid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism as well as DNA and RNA synthesis and metabolism. In contrast, the coral surface seawater metagenomes had an enhanced frequency of genes associated with dynamic processes including motility and chemotaxis, regulation and cell signalling. These findings demonstrate that the composition and function of microbial communities are highly variable between niches within coral reef ecosystems and that coral reefs host heterogeneous microbial communities that are likely shaped by habitat structure, presence of animal hosts and local biogeochemical conditions.

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Section: Taxonomysupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability in Microbial Community Composition and Function Between Different Niches Within a Coral Reef

et al. 2014

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“…Some of the earliest work on marine bacterial chemotaxis demonstrated that coral and Symbiodinium exudates are potent chemoattractants (Chet and Mitchell, 1976;Bartlett and Matsumura, 1986), and chemotaxis and motility are important phenotypes for the coral pathogens Vibrio shiloi and V. coralliilyticus to locate, invade and colonise their coral hosts (Banin et al, 2001;Koren and Rosenberg, 2006;Rosenberg et al, 2007;Meron et al, 2009;Kimes et al, 2011). Recently, it has been demonstrated that V. coralliilyticus exhibits extremely strong chemotactic responses towards DMSP to locate heat-stressed colonies of its coral host, Pocillopora damicornis (Garren et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemotaxis by natural populations of coral reef bacteria

et al. 2015

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Corals experience intimate associations with distinct populations of marine microorganisms, but the microbial behaviours underpinning these relationships are poorly understood. There is evidence that chemotaxis is pivotal to the infection process of corals by pathogenic bacteria, but this evidence is limited to experiments using cultured isolates under laboratory conditions. We measured the chemotactic capabilities of natural populations of coral-associated bacteria towards chemicals released by corals and their symbionts, including amino acids, carbohydrates, ammonium and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Laboratory experiments, using a modified capillary assay, and in situ measurements, using a novel microfabricated in situ chemotaxis assay, were employed to quantify the chemotactic responses of natural microbial assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef. Both approaches showed that bacteria associated with the surface of the coral species Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora aspera exhibited significant levels of chemotaxis, particularly towards DMSP and amino acids, and that these levels of chemotaxis were significantly higher than that of bacteria inhabiting nearby, non-coral-associated waters. This pattern was supported by a significantly higher abundance of chemotaxis and motility genes in metagenomes within coral-associated water types. The phylogenetic composition of the coral-associated chemotactic microorganisms, determined using 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing, differed from the community in the seawater surrounding the coral and comprised known coral associates, including potentially pathogenic Vibrio species. These findings indicate that motility and chemotaxis are prevalent phenotypes among coral-associated bacteria, and we propose that chemotaxis has an important role in the establishment and maintenance of specific coral-microbe associations, which may ultimately influence the health and stability of the coral holobiont.

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Chemotactic Signal Transduction inEscherichia coliandSalmonella typhimurium

Amsler

Matsumura

2014

Two-Component Signal Transduction

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Behavioral responses to chemical cues by bacteria

Cited by 3 publications

References 99 publications

Variability in Microbial Community Composition and Function Between Different Niches Within a Coral Reef

Variability in Microbial Community Composition and Function Between Different Niches Within a Coral Reef

Chemotaxis by natural populations of coral reef bacteria

Chemotactic Signal Transduction inEscherichia coliandSalmonella typhimurium

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