Aspergillosis of gorgonian sea fans is a Caribbean-wide disease characterized by focal, annular purple pigmentation with central tissue loss. We applied a holistic diagnostic approach including histopathology and a combination of culture and direct molecular identification of fungi to evaluate these lesions with the goal of determining the diversity of associated micro-organisms and pathology. Biopsies were collected from 14 sea fans without gross lesions and 44 sea fans with lesions grossly consistent with aspergillosis in shallow fringing reefs of St. Kitts. Histologically, the tissue loss margin had exposure of the axis and amoebocyte encapsulation with abundant mixed micro-organisms. Polyp loss, gastrodermal necrosis, and coenenchymal amoebocytosis were at the lesion interface (purpled area transitioning to grossly normal tissue) with algae (n = 21), fungus-like hyphae (n = 20), ciliate protists (n = 16), cyanobacteria (n = 15), labyrinthulomycetes (n = 5), or no micro-organisms (n = 8). Slender, septate hyaline hyphae predominated over other morphological categories, but were confined to the axis with little host response other than periaxial melanization. Hyphae were absent in 6 lesioned sea fans and present in 5 control biopsies, questioning their pathogenicity and necessary role in lesion causation. From cultivation, different fungi were isolated and identified by sequencing of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region. In addition, 2 primer pairs were used in a nested format to increase the sensitivity for direct amplification and identification of fungi from lesions, thereby circumventing cultivation. Results suggest mixed and opportunistic infections in sea fans with these lesions, requiring longitudinal or experimental studies to better determine the pathogenesis.
Keywords: aspergillosis; aspergillus; fungal internal transcribed spacer; histology; octocorals; sea fan.