Mucus Sugar Content Shapes the Bacterial Community Structure in Thermally Stressed Acropora muricata.

ABSTRACT: It has been proposed that the chemical composition of a coral's mucus can influence the associated bacterial community. However, information on this topic is rare, and non-existent for corals that are under thermal stress. This study therefore compared the carbohydrate composition of mucus in the coral Acropora muricata when subjected to increasing thermal stress from 26 to 31°C, and determined whether this composition correlated with any changes in the bacterial community. Results showed that, at lower temperatures, the main components of mucus were N-acetyl glucosamine and C6 sugars, but these constituted a significantly lower proportion of the mucus in thermally stressed corals. The change in the mucus composition coincided with a shift from a γ-Proteobacteria- to a Verrucomicrobiae- an

SUBMITTER: Lee ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4805648 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature