title: Coral transcriptome and bacterial community profiles reveal distinct Yellow Band Disease states in Orbicella faveolata.
abstract: Coral diseases impact reefs globally. Although we continue to describe diseases, little is known about the etiology or progression of even the most common cases. To examine a spectrum of coral health and determine factors of disease progression we examined Orbicella faveolata exhibiting signs of Yellow Band Disease (YBD), a widespread condition in the Caribbean. We used a novel combined approach to assess three members of the coral holobiont: the coral-host, associated Symbiodinium algae, and bacteria. We profiled three conditions: (1) healthy-appearing colonies (HH), (2) healthy-appearing tissue on diseased colonies (HD), and (3) diseased lesion (DD). Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed health state-specific diversity in Symbiodinium clade associations. 16S ribosomal RNA gene microarrays (PhyloChips) and O. faveolata complimentary DNA microarrays revealed the bacterial community structure and host transcriptional response, respectively. A distinct bacterial community structure marked each health state. Diseased samples were associated with two to three times more bacterial diversity. HD samples had the highest bacterial richness, which included components associated with HH and DD, as well as additional unique families. The host transcriptome under YBD revealed a reduced cellular expression of defense- and metabolism-related processes, while the neighboring HD condition exhibited an intermediate expression profile. Although HD tissue appeared visibly healthy, the microbial communities and gene expression profiles were distinct. HD should be regarded as an additional (intermediate) state of disease, which is important for understanding the progression of YBD.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA [2] School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Collin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Closek
authors.affiliation: Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sunagawa
authors.affiliation: Phalanx Biotech Group Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: DeSalvo
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Yvette M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Piceno
authors.affiliation: Second Genome Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Todd Z
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: DeSantis
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Eoin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA [2] School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michele X
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Christian R
authors.identifier: 0000000345553795
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Voolstra
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA [2] School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medina
mesh_terms: D056893:Alveolata / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D059467:Transcriptome