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Coral endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) emit species-specific volatilomes that shift when exposed to thermal stress.

ABSTRACT: Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) influence organism fitness by promoting stress resistance and regulating trophic interactions. Studies examining BVOC emissions have predominantly focussed on terrestrial ecosystems and atmospheric chemistry - surprisingly, highly productive marine ecosystems remain largely overlooked. Here we examined the volatilome (total BVOCs) of the microalgal endosymbionts of reef invertebrates, Symbiodiniaceae. We used GC-MS to characterise five species (Symbiodinium linucheae, Breviolum psygmophilum, Durusdinium trenchii, Effrenium voratum, Fugacium kawagutii) under steady-state growth. A diverse range of 32 BVOCs were detected (from 12 in D. trenchii to 27 in S. linucheae) with halogenated hydrocarbons, alkanes and esters the most common chemical functional groups. A thermal stress experiment on thermally-sensitive Cladocopium goreaui and thermally-tolerant D. trenchii significantly affected the volatilomes of both species. More BVOCs were detected in D. trenchii following thermal stress (32?°C), while fewer BVOCs were recorded in stressed C. goreaui. The onset of stress caused dramatic increases of dimethyl-disulfide (98.52%) in C. goreaui and nonanoic acid (99.85%) in D. trenchii. This first volatilome analysis of Symbiodiniaceae reveals that both species-specificity and environmental factors govern the composition of BVOC emissions among the Symbiodiniaceae, which potentially have, as yet unexplored, physiological and ecological importance in shaping coral reef community functioning.

SUBMITTER: Lawson CA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6874547 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Coral endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) emit species-specific volatilomes that shift when exposed to thermal stress.

Lawson Caitlin A CA Possell Malcolm M Seymour Justin R JR Raina Jean-Baptiste JB Suggett David J DJ

Scientific reports 20191122 1

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) influence organism fitness by promoting stress resistance and regulating trophic interactions. Studies examining BVOC emissions have predominantly focussed on terrestrial ecosystems and atmospheric chemistry - surprisingly, highly productive marine ecosystems remain largely overlooked. Here we examined the volatilome (total BVOCs) of the microalgal endosymbionts of reef invertebrates, Symbiodiniaceae. We used GC-MS to characterise five species (Symbiod ...[more]

PMID: 31758008

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Project description:It is well-known that the adaptability of coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis to thermal stress varies among coral species, but the cause and/or mechanism behind it are not well-understood. In this study, we aimed to explore this issue based on zooxanthellae density (ZD) and Symbiodiniaceae genus/subclade. Hemocytometry and next-generation sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) marker gene were used to observe ZDs and Symbiodiniaceae genera/subclades associated with 15 typical coral species in the southern South China Sea (SCS). Average ZDs of all corals were in low levels, ranging from 0.84 to 1.22 × 106 cells cm-2, with a total of five Symbiodiniaceae genera, Symbiodinium, Cladocopium, Durusdinium, Fugacium, and Gerakladium, as well as 24 dominant subclades, were detected and varied among these coral species. Pocillopora verrucosa was dominated by Durusdinium (subclade D1/D1a), and other colonial corals were dominated by Cladocopium, but the subclades were varied among these species. Porites lutea and Montipora efflorescens were dominated by C15, and Echinopora lamellosa, Hydnophora exesa, and Coscinaraea exesa were dominated by C40. Acropora corymbosa, Merulina ampliata, and five species of Faviidae were mainly associated with Cladocopium types of C3u and Cspc. In contrast to other colonial corals, the dominant subclade of solitary Fungia fungites was C27, with high host specificity. Our study indicates that coral thermal stress adaptability is mainly affected by dominant Symbiodiniaceae type instead of ZD in the southern SCS. Some heat-sensitive corals, such as P. verrucosa corals, have acquired a high abundance of heat-tolerant Durusdinium to adapt to thermal stress. This could be the main reason for these corals becoming the dominant corals in this reef region. Background subclades analyses showed significant differences among coral species in subclade quantity and diversity. These suggest that numbers of coral species may have adapted to high environmental temperature by adopting various symbionts and/or associating with heat-tolerant Symbiodiniaceae.

Project description:The coral holobiont is a complex ecosystem consisting of coral animals and a highly diverse consortium of associated microorganisms including algae, fungi, and bacteria. Several studies have highlighted the importance of coral-associated bacteria and their potential roles in promoting the host fitness and survival. Recently, dynamics of coral-associated microbiomes have been demonstrated to be linked to patterns of coral heat tolerance. Here, we examined the effect of elevated seawater temperature on the structure and diversity of bacterial populations associated with Porites lutea, using full-length 16S rRNA sequences obtained from Pacific Biosciences circular consensus sequencing. We observed a significant increase in alpha diversity indices and a distinct shift in microbiome composition during thermal stress. There was a marked decline in the apparent relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteria family Endozoicomonadaceae after P. lutea had been exposed to elevated seawater temperature. Concomitantly, the bacterial community structure shifted toward the predominance of Alphaproteobacteria family Rhodobacteraceae. Interestingly, we did not observe an increase in relative abundance of Vibrio-related sequences in our heat-stressed samples even though the appearance of Vibrio spp. has often been detected in parallel with the increase in the relative abundance of Rhodobacteraceae during thermal bleaching in other coral species. The ability of full-length 16S rRNA sequences in resolving taxonomic uncertainty of associated bacteria at a species level enabled us to identify 24 robust indicator bacterial species for thermally stressed corals. It is worth noting that the majority of those indicator species were members of the family Rhodobacteraceae. The comparison of bacterial community structure and diversity between corals in ambient water temperature and thermally stressed corals may provide a better understanding on how bacteria symbionts contribute to the resilience of their coral hosts to ocean warming.

Dataset Information

Coral endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) emit species-specific volatilomes that shift when exposed to thermal stress.

Publications

Coral endosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) emit species-specific volatilomes that shift when exposed to thermal stress.

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