Project description:The Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COTS), Acanthaster planci, is a highly fecund predator of reef-building corals distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. COTS population outbreaks cause substantial loss of coral cover, diminishing the integrity and resilience of the reef ecosystems thus increasing their susceptibility to climate change. We sequenced genomes of A. planci from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (GBR) and Okinawa, Japan (OKI) to guide identification of species-specific peptide communication with potential applications in mitigation strategies. The genome-encoded proteins excreted and secreted into the surrounding seawater by COTS forming aggregations and by those escaping the predatory giant triton snail, Charonia tritonis, were identified LC-MS/MS.
Project description:16s RNA gene sequencing data from seawater, bed sediment and steel corrosion samples from Shoreham Harbour, UK, collected to allow bacterial species comparisons between microbially influenced corrosion, the surrounding seawater, and the sea bed sediment at the seafloor and 50cm depth below seafloor.
Project description:To characterize the taxonomic and functional diversity of biofilms on plastics in marine environments, plastic pellets (PE and PS, ø 3mm) and wooden pellets (as organic control) were incubated at three stations: at the Baltic Sea coast in Heiligendamm (coast), in a dead branch of the river Warnow in Warnemünde (inlet), and in the Warnow estuary (estuary). After two weeks of incubation, all pellets were frozen for subsequent metagenome sequencing and metaproteomic analysis. Biofilm communities in the samples were compared on multiple levels: a) between the two plastic materials, b) between the individual incubation sites, and c) between the plastic materials and the wooden control. Using a semiquantitative approach, we established metaproteome profiles, which reflect the dominant taxonomic groups as well as abundant metabolic functions in the respective samples.
Project description:Coral bleaching and coral reef degradation become severe as the surface seawater temperature rises. Much research to date has focused on the bacterial community composition properties within the coral holobiont, but less attention has been paid to the interactions of bacteria and corals under thermal stress. We investigated the changes of coral symbiotic bacteria and metabolites under thermal stress, and analyzed the internal relationship between bacteria and metabolites as well as their relationship with coral health. We found obvious signs of coral bleaching after heating treatment, and the interaction within symbiotic bacterial community became closer. The coral symbiotic bacterial community and metabolites changed significantly under thermal stress, and bacteria such as Flavobacterium, Shewanella and Psychrobacter increased significantly. Bacteria associated with stress tolerance, biofilm formation and mobile elements decreased, and bacterial DMSP metabolism increased slightly after heating treatment. Differential metabolites in corals after heating treatment were associated with cell cycle regulation and antioxidant. This study revealed the correlation between differential metabolites and bacterial community composition changes in corals under thermal stress, and providing valuable insight on metabolomics research of corals.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of corals exposed to control (ambient seawater) or 50 ppb copper for 24 hours Two-condition experiment, Control vs 50ppb. Biological replicates: 5 genotypes paired in control vs 50ppb, each genotype collected from different location on reef. One replicate per array.