Crown-of-Thorns Sea Star Acanthaster cf. solaris Has Tissue-Characteristic Microbiomes with Potential Roles in Health and Reproduction.

ABSTRACT: Outbreaks of coral-eating crown-of-thorns sea stars (CoTS; Acanthaster species complex) cause substantial coral loss; hence, there is considerable interest in developing prevention and control strategies. We characterized the microbiome of captive CoTS and assessed whether dysbiosis was evident in sea stars during a disease event. Most tissue types had a distinct microbiome. The exception was female gonads, in which the microbiomes were highly variable among individuals. Male gonads were dominated (>97% of reads) by a single Mollicutes-related operational taxonomic unit (OTU). Detailed phylogenetic and microscopy analysis demonstrated the presence of a novel Spiroplasma-related bacterium in the spermatogenic layer. Body wall samples had high relative abundance (43 to 6

SUBMITTER: Hoj L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6007096 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature