Community shifts in the surface microbiomes of the coral Porites astreoides with unusual lesions

PLoS One. 2014 Jun 17;9(6):e100316. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100316. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Apical lesions on Porites astreoides were characterized by the appearance of a thin yellow band, which was preceded by bleaching of the coral tissues and followed by a completely denuded coral skeleton, which often harbored secondary macroalgal colonizers. These characteristics have not been previously described in Porites and do not match common Caribbean coral diseases. The lesions were observed only in warmer months and at shallow depths on the fore reef in Belize. Analysis of the microbial community composition based on the V4 hypervariable region of 16S ribosomal RNA genes revealed that the surface microbiomes associated with nonsymptomatic corals were dominated by the members of the genus Endozoicomonas, consistent with other studies. Comparison of the microbiomes of nonsymptomatic and lesioned coral colonies sampled in July and September revealed two distinct groups, inconsistently related to the disease state of the coral, but showing some temporal signal. The loss of Endozoicomonas was characteristic of lesioned corals, which also harbored potential opportunistic pathogens such as Alternaria, Stenotrophomonas, and Achromobacter. The presence of lesions in P. astreoides coincided with a decrease in the relative abundance of Endozoicomonas, rather than the appearance of specific pathogenic taxa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthozoa / growth & development
  • Anthozoa / microbiology*
  • Bacteria / classification*
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Coral Reefs*
  • Microbiota*
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Residence Characteristics

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

Support for this research was provided by the George E. Burch Fellowship in Theoretical Medicine and Affiliated Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution; M.T. was a 2012 recipient of this fellowship. Funding for sample collection was provided by the National Geographic Society Committee for Research Exploration grant # 9184-12. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.