Coral high molecular weight carbohydrates support opportunistic microbes in bacterioplankton from an algae-dominated reef.

ABSTRACT: High molecular weight (HMW; >1 kDa) carbohydrates are a major component of dissolved organic matter (DOM) released by benthic primary producers. Despite shifts from coral to algae dominance on many reefs, little is known about the effects of exuded carbohydrates on bacterioplankton communities in reef waters. We compared the monosaccharide composition of HMW carbohydrates exuded by hard corals and brown macroalgae and investigated the response of the bacterioplankton community of an algae-dominated Caribbean reef to the respective HMW fractions. HMW coral exudates were compositionally distinct from the ambient, algae-dominated reef waters and similar to coral mucus (high in arabinose). They further selected for opportunistic bacterioplankton taxa commonly associated with coral stress (i.e.

SUBMITTER: Thobor BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11575353 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature