Functional stability of Spirochaetota symbionts in the precious octocoral Corallium rubrum under heat stress.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Octocoral gorgonians are the engineer species of the Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages, but they are threatened with collapse due to recurring marine heat waves. These extreme events disrupt their symbiotic relationship with their associated microbes, promoting pathogen proliferation and tissue-degrading diseases. While the effects of seawater warming on microbial taxonomic diversity have been extensively studied, the functional response of bacterial symbionts and opportunists to thermal stress in Mediterranean octocorals has not yet been investigated. To fill this gap, we investigated a unique and very stable symbiosis between the emblematic red coral Corallium rubrum and its Spirochaetota symbionts. Although the relative and absolute abundances of Spirochaetota a

SUBMITTER: Gervais O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12522431 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature