Characterization of the Microbiome of Corals with Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease along Florida's Coral Reef.

ABSTRACT: Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is an emergent and often lethal coral disease that was first reported near Miami, FL (USA) in 2014. Our objective was to determine if coral colonies showing signs of SCTLD possess a specific microbial signature across five susceptible species sampled in Florida's Coral Reef. Three sample types were collected: lesion tissue and apparently unaffected tissue of diseased colonies, and tissue of apparently healthy colonies. Using 16S rRNA high-throughput gene sequencing, our results show that, for every species, the microbial community composition of lesion tissue was significantly different from healthy colony tissue and from the unaffected tissue of diseased colonies. The lesion tissue of all but one species (Siderastrea siderea) had higher relat

SUBMITTER: Clark AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8623284 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature