Identification of a Ciliate (Oligohymenophorea: Scuticociliatia) Associated with Brown Band Disease on Corals of the Great Barrier Reef

Bourne, David G.; Boyett, Holly V.; Henderson, Meegan; Muirhead, A.; Willis, Bette L.

doi:10.1128/aem.01124-07

Cited by 67 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…SEB was found outside the study area in 2005 (Haapkylä et al 2007). BrB and SEB are both characterised by dense aggregations of ciliates on the surface of the coral: SEB harbouring Halofolliculina corallasia (Antonius & Lipscomb 2001) and BrB a ciliate belonging to the class Oligohymenophorea, subclass Scuticociliata (Bourne et al 2008). The prevalence of BrB on the GBR is less than 1% and more common on the southern GBR (Willis et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal coral disease dynamics in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia

Haapkylä

Unsworth²,

Seymour³

et al. 2009

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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In the present study we investigated inter-annual coral disease dynamics, in situ disease progression rates, and disease-associated coral tissue mortality in the Wakatobi Marine National Park (WMNP) situated in the coral triangle in South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia. In 2005, only 2 known syndromes were recorded within the sampling area transect surveys: white syndrome (WS; 0.42% prevalence) and growth anomalies (GA; 0.15% prevalence), whilst 4 diseases were recorded in 2007: WS (0.19%), Porites ulcerative white spot disease (PUWS; 0.08%), GA (0.05%) and black band disease (BBD; 0.02%). Total disease prevalence decreased from 0.57% in 2005 to 0.33% in 2007. In addition to prevalence surveys, in situ progression rates of 4 diseases were investigated in 2007: BBD on Pachyseris foliosa, P. rugosa and Diploastrea heliopora, WS on Acropora clathrata, and brown band (BrB) and skeletal eroding band (SEB) diseases on Acropora pulchra. BrB and WS had the highest progression rates, 1.2 ± 0.36 and 1.1 ± 0.07 cm d -1 , respectively, indicating that diseases may have a significant impact on local Acropora populations. BBD had the lowest progression rate (0.39 ± 0.14 cm d -1). WS caused the most severe recorded total tissue mortality: 53 923 cm 2 over a period of 36 d. Sedimentation and coral cover were studied and a highly significant drop in coral cover was observed. This study provides the first documentation of spatio-temporal coral disease dynamics from Indonesia. Despite low total disease prevalence, progression rates comparable to the ones observed in the Caribbean and Australia indicate that diseases may threaten the reef framework in some locations and add to the degradation of coral reefs in a region already at high risk from anthropogenic impacts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal coral disease dynamics in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia

Haapkylä

Unsworth²,

Seymour³

et al. 2009

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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“…This can thus compensate for the inevitable shortage of genomic DNA existing in single-cell protists. Also, in molecular taxonomic studies of ciliates, small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) has been widely used as genetic diagnostic characteristics and thousands of SSU rDNA sequences have been determined and deposited in GenBank (Strü der-Kypke et al 2000; Petroni et al 2002;Puitika et al 2006;Bourne et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Single-cell PCR on protargol-impregnated euplotid ciliates: a combined approach of morphological and molecular taxonomy

Kim

Choi

Ryu

et al. 2011

Animal Cells and Systems

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Ciliates are considered one of the most diverse protozoa and play significant roles in ecology. For successful taxonomic study of these microscopic eukaryotes, a staining procedure is necessary, due mainly to intrinsic difficulties in recognizing characteristics from living cells. Although molecular taxonomy has been used to resolve the ambiguities associated with traditional morphology-based taxonomy, extraction of genomic DNA from stained ciliate cells is not available yet. In the present study, we describe a method to extract genomic DNA from a single protargol-impregnated euplotid cell. By using HgCl 2 as a fixative and modulating the exposure time of bleach solution in the protargol impregnation, high-quality genomic DNA can successfully be extracted from a stained single cell with minimal loss of morphological integrity. This technique will contribute to the effectiveness of combined approaches of molecular and morphological taxonomy from single ciliate cells.

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“…BrB has been described for three coral families (Acroporidae, Pocilloporidae, and Faviidae) on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (5,21,24), and for Porites astreoides and Montastraea faveolata in Florida (8). The responsible ciliate has been classified in different lineages (4,8), but a recent molecular analysis based on the 18S rRNA gene (18S rDNA) identified it as a novel species closely related to the scuticociliate genera Uronema and Paranophrys (6). This ciliate was observed to consume the spat of the host coral (8) and to intensively ingest the coral's essential endosymbiont Symbiodinium; the ingested alga could remain intact and photosynthetically active within the ciliate after ingestion (21).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The other, which is closely related to Paranophrys magna, grazed on detritus instead of Symbiodinium. These two ciliates may serve contrasting functions (competitor versus "cleaner") in the coral-ciliate-Symbiodinium triangular relationship.Various ciliates have been found to dwell in coral reefs (1,2,5,6,9,15,16,18,23,24), but their genetic and physiological diversities remain poorly understood. Best studied were those associated with coral diseases, such as skeletoneroding band (SEB) (1, 17) and brown band syndrome (BrB) (5, 24).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Two Functionally Distinct Ciliates Dwelling in Acropora Corals in the South China Sea near Sanya, Hainan Province, China

Qiu

Huang

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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We detected and characterized two distinct scuticociliate ciliates inside Acropora corals in the South China Sea. One, voraciously foraging on Symbiodinium, resembled the brown band disease of ciliates. The other, which is closely related to Paranophrys magna, grazed on detritus instead of Symbiodinium. These two ciliates may serve contrasting functions (competitor versus "cleaner") in the coral-ciliate-Symbiodinium triangular relationship.Various ciliates have been found to dwell in coral reefs (1,2,5,6,9,15,16,18,23,24), but their genetic and physiological diversities remain poorly understood. Best studied were those associated with coral diseases, such as skeletoneroding band (SEB) (1, 17) and brown band syndrome (BrB) (5, 24). BrB causes a brown zone on the coral, often sandwiched by healthy tissue and exposed white skeleton (24), which occurs when a large mass of a scuticociliate ciliate is present. BrB has been described for three coral families (Acroporidae, Pocilloporidae, and Faviidae) on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (5, 21, 24), and for Porites astreoides and Montastraea faveolata in Florida (8). The responsible ciliate has been classified in different lineages (4,8), but a recent molecular analysis based on the 18S rRNA gene (18S rDNA) identified it as a novel species closely related to the scuticociliate genera Uronema and Paranophrys (6). This ciliate was observed to consume the spat of the host coral (8) and to intensively ingest the coral's essential endosymbiont Symbiodinium; the ingested alga could remain intact and photosynthetically active within the ciliate after ingestion (21). Whether other ciliates cohabit with BrB ciliates in the coral and whether they would play different ecological functions in the coral microcosm are of high interest but remain obscure. In an attempt to address these issues, we found two closely related but distinct ciliates from two Acropora corals in the South China Sea. By culturing, microscopic examination, molecular (18S rDNA) analysis of a community DNA extract, and microscopic examination of isolated single cells and cultures, we observed distinct morphologies, phylogenetic positions, and trophic behaviors in these two ciliates.Sampling of corals and intracavity microbial assemblages. Coral branches were collected at 18°12ЈN, 109°28ЈE (latitude, longitude) at a depth of 1.6 m at Sanya, off Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The temperature was 27.1°C. After collection, each coral branch was transported in ambient seawater and transported to the laboratory in Sanya within 45 min. After the surface was rinsed with 0.45-m-filtered seawater, the internal content of the coral (endosymbionts) was washed off using a Waterpik Ultra dental water jet (WP70EC; Alibaba, Shenzhen, China). Six 2-ml subsamples were preserved in 1% formaldehyde and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. The remainder was kept at ambient temperature for culturing. The corals were identified as Acropora microclados and Acropora hyacinthus as previously described (22). In situ and laborato...

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Identification of a Ciliate (Oligohymenophorea: Scuticociliatia) Associated with Brown Band Disease on Corals of the Great Barrier Reef

Cited by 67 publications

References 39 publications

Spatio-temporal coral disease dynamics in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia

Spatio-temporal coral disease dynamics in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia

Single-cell PCR on protargol-impregnated euplotid ciliates: a combined approach of morphological and molecular taxonomy

Two Functionally Distinct Ciliates Dwelling in Acropora Corals in the South China Sea near Sanya, Hainan Province, China

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