Microbiome variation in corals with distinct depth distribution ranges across a shallow-mesophotic gradient (15-85 m).

ABSTRACT: Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are generally poorly studied, and our knowledge of lower MCEs (below 60 m depth) is largely limited to visual surveys. Here, we provide a first detailed assessment of the prokaryotic community associated with scleractinian corals over a depth gradient to the lower mesophotic realm (15-85 m). Specimens of three Caribbean coral species exhibiting differences in their depth distribution ranges (Agaricia grahamae, Madracis pharensis and Stephanocoenia intersepta) were collected with a manned submersible on the island of Curaçao, and their prokaryotic communities assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Corals with narrower depth distribution ranges (depth-specialists) were associated with a stable prokaryotic community, whereas c

SUBMITTER: Glasl B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5434129 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature