title: Bacterial predation in a marine host-associated microbiome.
abstract: In many ecological communities, predation has a key role in regulating community structure or function. Although predation has been extensively explored in animals and microbial eukaryotes, predation by bacteria is less well understood. Here we show that predatory bacteria of the genus Halobacteriovorax are prevalent and active predators on the surface of several genera of reef-building corals. Across a library of 198 16S rRNA samples spanning three coral genera, 79% were positive for carriage of Halobacteriovorax. Cultured Halobacteriovorax from Porites asteroides corals tested positive for predation on the putative coral pathogens Vibrio corallyticus and Vibrio harveyii. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that Halobacteriovorax's interactions with other bacteria are influenced by temperature and inorganic nutrient concentration, and further suggested that this bacterial predator's abundance may be driven by prey availability. Thus, animal microbiomes can harbor active bacterial predators, which may regulate microbiome structure and protect the host by consuming potential pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Rory M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Jesse R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Zaneveld
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Rosales
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Jérôme P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Payet
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA.|Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Deron E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Burkepile
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca Vega
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Thurber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000382:microbiology*; D058448:Biota; D057894:Coral Reefs; D056265:Microbial Interactions; D064307:Microbiota; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014733:Vibrio / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification