Significant Shifts in Microbial Communities Associated with Scleractinian Corals in Response to Algae Overgrowth.

ABSTRACT: Microbes play a key role in reef dynamics, mediating the competition between scleractinian corals and benthic algae; however, major shifts in bacterial communities among coral species in response to increases in the abundance of algae are not well understood. We investigated the taxonomic composition of coral-associated microbial communities under algae-overgrowth conditions using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that non-algal (i.e., healthy) tissue (HH) had lower bacterial abundance and diversity than tissue collected from the coral-algae interface boundary (HA) and areas of algae growth (AA). Specifically, the HA and AA samples had higher relative abundances of Saprospiraceae, Rhodobacteraceae, and Alteromonadaceae. Compared with Platygyra sp. and Montipora sp.

SUBMITTER: Lu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9694024 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature