Unveiling microbiome changes in Mediterranean octocorals during the 2022 marine heatwaves: quantifying key bacterial symbionts and potential pathogens.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Climate change has accelerated the occurrence and severity of heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea and poses a significant threat to the octocoral species that form the foundation of marine animal forests (MAFs). As coral health intricately relies on the symbiotic relationships established between corals and microbial communities, our goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the role of bacteria in the observed tissue loss of key octocoral species following the unprecedented heatwaves in 2022.

Results

Using amplicon sequencing and taxon-specific qPCR analyses, we unexpectedly found that the absolute abundance of the major bacterial symbionts, Spirochaetaceae (C. rubrum) and Endozoicomonas (P. clavata), remained, in most cases, unchanged between colonies with 0% an

SUBMITTER: Prioux C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10696765 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature