Vibrio coralliilyticus infection triggers a behavioural response and perturbs nutritional exchange and tissue integrity in a symbiotic coral.

ABSTRACT: Under homoeostatic conditions, the relationship between the coral Pocillopora damicornis and Vibrio coralliilyticus is commensal. An increase in temperature, or in the abundance of V. coralliilyticus, can turn this association pathogenic, causing tissue lysis, expulsion of the corals' symbiotic algae (genus Symbiodinium), and eventually coral death. Using a combination of microfluidics, fluorescence microscopy, stable isotopes, electron microscopy and NanoSIMS isotopic imaging, we provide insights into the onset and progression of V. coralliilyticus infection in the daytime and at night, at the tissue and (sub-)cellular level. The objective of our study was to connect the macro-scale behavioural response of the coral to the micro-scale nutritional interactions that occur between the host a

SUBMITTER: Gibbin E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6462045 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature