Microbiome structure of the fungid coral Ctenactis echinata aligns with environmental differences.

ABSTRACT: The significance of bacteria for eukaryotic functioning is increasingly recognized. Coral reef ecosystems critically rely on the relationship between coral hosts and their intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellates, but the role of the associated bacteria remains largely theoretical. Here, we set out to relate coral-associated bacterial communities of the fungid host species Ctenactis echinata to environmental settings (geographic location, substrate cover, summer/winter, nutrient and suspended matter concentrations) and coral host abundance. We show that bacterial diversity of C. echinata aligns with ecological differences between sites and that coral colonies sampled at the species' preferred habitats are primarily structured by one bacterial taxon (genus Endozoicomonas) representing m

SUBMITTER: Roder C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4736464 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature