Coral microbiome manipulation elicits metabolic and genetic restructuring to mitigate heat stress and evade mortality.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Santoro EP
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8363143 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Coral microbiome manipulation elicits metabolic and genetic restructuring to mitigate heat stress and evade mortality.
Santoro Erika P EP Borges Ricardo M RM Espinoza Josh L JL Freire Marcelo M Messias Camila S M A CSMA Villela Helena D M HDM Pereira Leandro M LM Vilela Caren L S CLS Rosado João G JG Cardoso Pedro M PM Rosado Phillipe M PM Assis Juliana M JM Duarte Gustavo A S GAS Perna Gabriela G Rosado Alexandre S AS Macrae Andrew A Dupont Christopher L CL Nelson Karen E KE Sweet Michael J MJ Voolstra Christian R CR Peixoto Raquel S RS
Science advances 20210813 33
Beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMCs) ameliorate environmental stress, but whether they can prevent mortality and the underlying host response mechanisms remains elusive. Here, we conducted omics analyses on the coral <i>Mussismilia hispida</i> exposed to bleaching conditions in a long-term mesocosm experiment and inoculated with a selected BMC consortium or a saline solution placebo. All corals were affected by heat stress, but the observed "post-heat stress disorder" was mitigated by BMC ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundMicrobiome manipulation could enhance heat tolerance and help corals survive the pressures of ocean warming. We conducted coral microbiome transplantation (CMT) experiments using the reef-building corals, Pocillopora and Porites, and investigated whether this technique can benefit coral heat resistance while modifying the bacterial microbiome. Initially, heat-tolerant donors were identified in the wild. We then used fresh homogenates made from coral donor tissues to inoculate conspecific, heat-susceptible recipients and documented their bleaching responses and microbiomes by 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding.ResultsRecipients of both coral species bleached at lower rates compared to the control group when exposed to short-term heat stress (34 °C). One hundred twelve (Pocillopora sp.) and sixteen (Porites sp.) donor-specific bacterial species were identified in the microbiomes of recipients indicating transmission of bacteria. The amplicon sequence variants of the majority of these transmitted bacteria belonged to known, putatively symbiotic bacterial taxa of corals and were linked to the observed beneficial effect on the coral stress response. Microbiome dynamics in our experiments support the notion that microbiome community evenness and dominance of one or few bacterial species, rather than host-species identity, were drivers for microbiome stability in a holobiont context.ConclusionsOur results suggest that coral recipients likely favor the uptake of putative bacterial symbionts, recommending to include these taxonomic groups in future coral probiotics screening efforts. Our study suggests a scenario where these donor-specific bacterial symbionts might have been more efficient in supporting the recipients to resist heat stress compared to the native symbionts present in the control group. These findings urgently call for further experimental investigation of the mechanisms of action underlying the beneficial effect of CMT and for field-based long-term studies testing the persistence of the effect. Video abstract.
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