Alien vs. predator: bacterial challenge alters coral microbiomes unless controlled by Halobacteriovorax predators.

ABSTRACT: Coral microbiomes are known to play important roles in organismal health, response to environmental stress, and resistance to disease. The coral microbiome contains diverse assemblages of resident bacteria, ranging from defensive and metabolic symbionts to opportunistic bacteria that may turn harmful in compromised hosts. However, little is known about how these bacterial interactions influence the mechanism and controls of overall structure, stability, and function of the microbiome. We sought to test how coral microbiome dynamics were affected by interactions between two bacteria: Vibrio coralliilyticus, a known temperature-dependent pathogen of some corals, and Halobacteriovorax, a unique bacterial predator of Vibrio and other gram-negative bacteria. We challenged r

SUBMITTER: Welsh RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5455293 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature