Differences in Bacterial Community Structure in Two Color Morphs of the Hawaiian Reef Coral Montipora capitata.

ABSTRACT: Corals harbor diverse bacterial associations that contribute to the health of the host. Using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing, we compared the bacterial communities of red and orange morphs of the Hawaiian coral Montipora capitata. Although both color morphs shared dominant bacterial genera, weighted and unweighted UniFrac analyses showed distinct bacterial communities. A single operational taxonomic unit (OTU), classified as Vibrio, represented the largest driver of differences between the color morphs. This OTU comprised 35.4% (±5.5%) of the orange morph bacterial community yet comprised 1.1% (±0.6%) of the red morph bacterial community. Cultivable bacteria from the two color morphs were also compared and tested for antibacterial activity. Cultured isolates represented 14 genera (7% of the total

SUBMITTER: Shore-Maggio A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4579432 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature