Relationship of Vibrio Species Infection and Elevated Temperatures to Yellow Blotch/Band Disease in Caribbean Corals

Abstract

The bacterial and temperature factors leading to yellow blotch/band disease (YBD), which affects the major reef-building Caribbean corals Montastrea spp., have been investigated. Groups of bacteria isolated from affected corals and inoculated onto healthy corals caused disease signs similar to those of YBD. The 16S rRNA genes from these bacteria were sequenced and found to correspond to four Vibrio spp. Elevating the water temperature notably increased the rate of spread of YBD on inoculated corals and induced greater coral mortality. YBD-infected corals held at elevated water temperatures had 50% lower zooxanthella densities, 80% lower division rates, and a 75% decrease in chlorophyll a and c 2 pigments compared with controls. Histological sections indicated that the algal pyrenoid was fragmented into separate segments, along with a reconfiguration and swelling of the zooxanthellae, as well as vacuolization. YBD does not appear to produce the same physiological response formerly observed in corals undergoing temperature-related bleaching. Evidence indicates that YBD affects primarily the symbiotic algae rather than coral tissue.

Bacterial diversity and White Plague Disease-associated community changes in the Caribbean coral Montastraea faveolata

“…Other Alteromonadales that were detected in higher abundance included family members of Alteromonadaceae and Pseudoalteromonadaceae. Although we did not find support by clone library sequencing, it should be noted that some members of Pseudoalteromonadaceae have been shown to possess algicidal properties (Lovejoy et al, 1998;Ivanova and Mikhailov, 2001;Mayali and Azam, 2004), which were proposed to play a role in the causation of Yellow Blotch Disease (Cervino et al, 2004). The rapid progression of tissue whitening in white plague-like diseases could possibly be related to algicidal activities of bacteria that increase in abundance in diseased tissues.…”

“…Vibrio spp. have previously been reported to either cause or be associated with higher prevalence in a number of coral diseases (Kushmaro et al, 1996;Ben-Haim and Rosenberg, 2002;Cervino et al, 2004;Gil-Agudelo et al, 2006Sussman et al, 2008). Furthermore, Vibrio spp.…”

Coral transcriptome and bacterial community profiles reveal distinct Yellow Band Disease states inOrbicella faveolata

“…The gradient of yellow to white band color is a result of declining algal symbiont densities (Cervino et al, 2001). Cervino et al (2004) identified four Vibrio spp. as the putative causative agents for YBD using traditional isolation and culturing techniques.…”

“…Both bacterial and Symbiodinium community composition have been assessed in some coral diseases (Cervino et al, 2004). However, the host physiological response has been evaluated mainly in the context of thermal stress (DeSalvo et al, 2008;Barshis et al, 2013) and never in conjunction with microbial community profiling.…”

“…Since the mid-1970s (Dustan, 1977) coral disease events have become pervasive throughout the world's oceans (Sutherland et al, 2004;Weil et al, 2006;Bourne et al, 2009). Anthropogenic pressures such as increasing sea surface temperatures, coastal development, depletion of fisheries and high-nutrient effluents, impact coral health and exacerbate disease outbreaks (Bruno et al, 2003;Cervino et al, 2004;Bruno et al, 2007;Brandt and McManus, 2009). Metagenomic approaches have revealed higher numbers of potentially pathogenic bacteria along gradients of anthropogenic activity .…”