Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis
Background The architecturally important coral species Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata were historically common in the Caribbean, but have declined precipitously since the early 1980s. Substantial resources are currently being dedicated to coral gardening and the subsequent outplanting of asexua...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2020-08-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/9635.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827608990554521600 |
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| author | Nicole Miller Paul Maneval Carrie Manfrino Thomas K. Frazer Julie L. Meyer |
| author_facet | Nicole Miller Paul Maneval Carrie Manfrino Thomas K. Frazer Julie L. Meyer |
| author_sort | Nicole Miller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The architecturally important coral species Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata were historically common in the Caribbean, but have declined precipitously since the early 1980s. Substantial resources are currently being dedicated to coral gardening and the subsequent outplanting of asexually reproduced colonies of Acropora, activities that provide abundant biomass for both restoration efforts and for experimental studies to better understand the ecology of these critically endangered coral species. Methods We characterized the bacterial and archaeal community composition of A. cervicornis corals in a Caribbean nursery to determine the heterogeneity of the microbiome within and among colonies. Samples were taken from three distinct locations (basal branch, intermediate branch, and branch tip) from colonies of three different coral genotypes. Results Overall, microbial community composition was similar among colonies due to high relative abundances of the Rickettsiales genus MD3-55 (Candidatus Aquarickettsia) in nearly all samples. While microbial communities were not different among locations within the same colony, they were significantly different between coral genotypes. These findings suggest that sampling from any one location on a coral host is likely to provide a representative sample of the microbial community for the entire colony. Our results also suggest that subtle differences in microbiome composition may be influenced by the coral host, where different coral genotypes host slightly different microbiomes. Finally, this study provides baseline data for future studies seeking to understand the microbiome of nursery-reared A. cervicornis and its roles in coral health, adaptability, and resilience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:23:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-13dbe938a0e441279d4a25a682823e88 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:23:36Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-13dbe938a0e441279d4a25a682823e882023-12-03T07:09:52ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-08-018e963510.7717/peerj.9635Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornisNicole Miller0Paul Maneval1Carrie Manfrino2Thomas K. Frazer3Julie L. Meyer4School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of AmericaLittle Cayman Research Center, Central Caribbean Marine Institute, Little Cayman, Cayman IslandsSchool of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of AmericaSoil and Water Sciences Department, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of AmericaBackground The architecturally important coral species Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata were historically common in the Caribbean, but have declined precipitously since the early 1980s. Substantial resources are currently being dedicated to coral gardening and the subsequent outplanting of asexually reproduced colonies of Acropora, activities that provide abundant biomass for both restoration efforts and for experimental studies to better understand the ecology of these critically endangered coral species. Methods We characterized the bacterial and archaeal community composition of A. cervicornis corals in a Caribbean nursery to determine the heterogeneity of the microbiome within and among colonies. Samples were taken from three distinct locations (basal branch, intermediate branch, and branch tip) from colonies of three different coral genotypes. Results Overall, microbial community composition was similar among colonies due to high relative abundances of the Rickettsiales genus MD3-55 (Candidatus Aquarickettsia) in nearly all samples. While microbial communities were not different among locations within the same colony, they were significantly different between coral genotypes. These findings suggest that sampling from any one location on a coral host is likely to provide a representative sample of the microbial community for the entire colony. Our results also suggest that subtle differences in microbiome composition may be influenced by the coral host, where different coral genotypes host slightly different microbiomes. Finally, this study provides baseline data for future studies seeking to understand the microbiome of nursery-reared A. cervicornis and its roles in coral health, adaptability, and resilience.https://peerj.com/articles/9635.pdfAcropora cervicornisMicrobiomeCoral microbiologyCoral restoration |
| spellingShingle | Nicole Miller Paul Maneval Carrie Manfrino Thomas K. Frazer Julie L. Meyer Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis PeerJ Acropora cervicornis Microbiome Coral microbiology Coral restoration |
| title | Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis |
| title_full | Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis |
| title_fullStr | Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis |
| title_short | Spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis |
| title_sort | spatial distribution of microbial communities among colonies and genotypes in nursery reared acropora cervicornis |
| topic | Acropora cervicornis Microbiome Coral microbiology Coral restoration |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/9635.pdf |
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