Coral-Associated Bacterial Diversity Is Conserved across Two Deep-Sea Anthothela Species

Lawler, Stephanie; Kellogg, Christina A.; Clostio, Rachel W.; Brooke, Sandra; Ross, Steve W.

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.00458

Cited by 83 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 181 publications

(273 reference statements)

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“…In contrast to observations from thermal stress experiments in the coral Acropora muricata (Lee et al., ), where total Gammaproteobacteria decreased while Verrucomicrobiaceae and total Alphaproteobacteria increased, we observed a general decrease in the relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria OTUs and an increase in total Gammaproteobacteria OTUs in A. digitifera . Members of Alphaproteobacteria , specifically order Rhodobacterales, are ubiquitous in coral reef ecosystems (Lawler et al., ) and comprise one of the dominant orders of bacteria in corals (Kemp et al., ) while order Rhizobiales are potentially Symbiodinium ‐associated taxa (Ainsworth et al., ). It has been shown that Alphaproteobacteria are typically associated with reefs that have higher coral cover while Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriales are abundant in more degraded algae‐dominated reefs (Kelly et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience of the prokaryotic microbial community of Acropora digitifera to elevated temperature

2017

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The coral is a holobiont formed by the close interaction between the coral animal and a diverse community of microorganisms, including dinoflagellates, bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses. The prokaryotic symbionts of corals are important for host fitness but are also highly sensitive to changes in the environment. In this study, we used 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing to examine the response of the microbial community associated with the coral, Acropora digitifera, to elevated temperature. The A. digitifera microbial community is dominated by operational taxonomic unit (OTUs) affiliated with classes Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. The prokaryotic community in the coral tissue is distinct from that of the mucus and the surrounding seawater. Remarkably, the overall microbial community structure of A. digitifera remained stable for 10 days of continuous exptosure at 32°C compared to corals maintained at 27°C. However, the elevated temperature regime resulted in a decrease in the abundance of OTUs affiliated with certain groups of bacteria, such as order Rhodobacterales. On the other hand, some OTUs affiliated with the orders Alteromonadales, Vibrionales, and Flavobacteriales, which are often associated with diseased and stressed corals, increased in abundance. Thus, while the A. digitifera bacterial community structure appears resilient to higher temperature, prolonged exposure and intensified stress results in changes in the abundance of specific microbial community members that may affect the overall metabolic state and health of the coral holobiont.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience of the prokaryotic microbial community of Acropora digitifera to elevated temperature

2017

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“…The gut tissue of A. agassizii was dominated by Spirochaetia, mostly represented by the genus Spirochaeta which was prevalent in all of the samples and accounted for as much as 80% relative abundance of the class. Spirochaetes are motile freeliving, facultative/obligate anaerobes (Leschine et al, 2006), associated with numerous marine invertebrates, among others, corals (Lawler et al, 2016;Van De Water et al, 2016), sponges (Matcher et al, 2017;Kellogg, 2019), sea stars (Jackson et al, 2018), and at the body surface of the regular sea urchin species Tripneustes gratilla (<15% relative abundance) (Brink et al, 2019). Such a prevalence inside the gut of a sea urchin has never been described and suggests a specific interaction between Spirochaeta and the Abatus host.…”

Section: Spirochaeta and Desulfobacula: Keystones Of The Abatus Micromentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of the Gut Microbiota of the Antarctic Heart Urchin (Spatangoida) Abatus agassizii

et al. 2020

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Abatus agassizii is an irregular sea urchin species that inhabits shallow waters of South Georgia and South Shetlands Islands. As a deposit-feeder, A. agassizii nutrition relies on the ingestion of the surrounding sediment in which it lives barely burrowed. Despite the low complexity of its feeding habit, it harbors a long and twice-looped digestive tract suggesting that it may host a complex bacterial community. Here, we characterized the gut microbiota of specimens from two A. agassizii populations at the south of the King George Island in the West Antarctic Peninsula. Using a metabarcoding approach targeting the 16S rRNA gene, we characterized the Abatus microbiota composition and putative functional capacity, evaluating its differentiation among the gut content and the gut tissue in comparison with the external sediment. Additionally, we aimed to define a core gut microbiota between A. agassizii populations to identify potential keystone bacterial taxa. Our results show that the diversity and the composition of the microbiota, at both genetic and predicted functional levels, were mostly driven by the sample type, and to a lesser extent by the population location. Specific bacterial taxa, belonging mostly to Planctomycetacia and Spirochaetia, were differently enriched in the gut content and the gut tissue, respectively. Predictive functional profiles revealed higher abundance of specific pathways, as the sulfur cycle in the gut content and the amino acid metabolism, in the gut tissue. Further, the definition of a core microbiota allowed to obtain evidence of specific localization of bacterial taxa and the identification of potential keystone taxa assigned to the Desulfobacula and Spirochaeta genera as potentially host selected. The ecological relevance of these keystone taxa in the host metabolism is discussed.

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“…An indicator species of the genus Spirochaeta 2 was almost eliminated in the heat-treated anemones above 30 • C, suggesting sensitivity to temperature. Bacteria from the phylum Spirochaetes have been identified in E. diaphana [82] and corals [96][97][98], including corals with high thermal tolerance [11]. However, the rapid decline of this indicator species above 30 • C, shows it may serve as an early indicator of thermal stress in GBR E. diaphana.…”

Section: Specific Bacteria As Biomarkers For Thermal Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Thermal Stress on the Bacterial Microbiome of Exaiptasia diaphana

2019

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Coral bleaching linked to climate change has generated interest in the response of coral's bacterial microbiome to thermal stress. The sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana, is a popular coral model, but the response of its bacteria to thermal stress has been barely explored. To address this, we compared the bacterial communities of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) E. diaphana maintained at 26 • C or exposed to increasing temperature (26-33 • C) over two weeks. Communities were analyzed by metabarcoding of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Bleaching and Symbiodiniaceae health were assessed by Symbiodiniaceae cell density and dark-adapted quantum yield (F v /F m ), respectively. Significant bleaching and reductions in F v /F m occurred in the heat-treated anemones above 29 • C. Overall declines in bacterial alpha diversity in all anemones were also observed. Signs of bacterial change emerged above 31 • C. Some initial outcomes may have been influenced by relocation or starvation, but collectively, the bacterial community and taxa-level data suggested that heat was the primary driver of change above 32 • C. Six bacterial indicator species were identified as potential biomarkers for thermal stress. We conclude that the bacterial microbiome of GBR E. diaphana is generally stable until a thermal threshold is surpassed, after which significant changes occur. resistance or susceptibility during thermal stress have been observed [12][13][14]. This highlights the need for controlled, laboratory-based experiments to clarify the relationship between temperature-related bacterial community shifts and bleaching in cnidarians [15][16][17].The sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana, is a much-used model for coral symbiosis studies [18,19]. Its ability to propagate asexually for rapid growth of clonal populations, basic maintenance requirements and coral-like bleaching response to environmental stressors have seen it widely adopted by the research community and several clonal lines of different geographic origin and algal symbiont type have been established. However, studies using E. diaphana to explore cnidarian responses to heat stress have focused largely on aspects of the host-Symbiodiniaceae relationship [20][21][22][23][24][25], whilst its bacterial microbiome has been almost wholly neglected and data from only two studies are available.In a 2010 Master's thesis, E. diaphana of unspecified origin were exposed to temperature ramped from 26 • C to 31 • C over ten days, then held at 31 • C for four days [26]. No significant differences between the associated bacterial communities of control and treated anemones were detected across the study period. However, poor resolution of chosen molecular biology methods negatively impacted the findings. In addition, exposing the anemones to a maximum of 31 • C meant the anemones may not have been thermally stressed, and no measurements of algal cell density or photosynthetic performance were taken to assess their condition. Although the study revealed few insights, it is acknowledged as the first investigation...

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Coral-Associated Bacterial Diversity Is Conserved across Two Deep-Sea Anthothela Species

Cited by 83 publications

References 181 publications

Resilience of the prokaryotic microbial community of Acropora digitifera to elevated temperature

Resilience of the prokaryotic microbial community of Acropora digitifera to elevated temperature

Characterization of the Gut Microbiota of the Antarctic Heart Urchin (Spatangoida) Abatus agassizii

The Effect of Thermal Stress on the Bacterial Microbiome of Exaiptasia diaphana

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