title: Stable mucus-associated bacterial communities in bleached and healthy corals of Porites lobata from the Arabian Seas.
abstract: Coral reefs are subject to coral bleaching manifested by the loss of endosymbiotic algae from coral host tissue. Besides algae, corals associate with bacteria. In particular, bacteria residing in the surface mucus layer are thought to mediate coral health, but their role in coral bleaching is unknown. We collected mucus from bleached and healthy Porites lobata colonies in the Persian/Arabian Gulf (PAG) and the Red Sea (RS) to investigate bacterial microbiome composition using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found that bacterial community structure was notably similar in bleached and healthy corals, and the most abundant bacterial taxa were identical. However, fine-scale differences in bacterial community composition between the PAG and RS were present and aligned with predicted differences in sulfur- and nitrogen-cycling processes. Based on our data, we argue that bleached corals benefit from the stable composition of mucus bacteria that resemble their healthy coral counterparts and presumably provide a conserved suite of protective functions, but monitoring of post-bleaching survival is needed to further confirm this assumption. Conversely, fine-scale site-specific differences highlight flexibility of the bacterial microbiome that may underlie adjustment to local environmental conditions and contribute to the widespread success of Porites lobata.
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ghaida
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hadaidi
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Röthig
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Lauren K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Yum
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Chatchanit
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arif
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roder
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Christian R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Voolstra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D057894:Coral Reefs; D048028:DNA, Algal / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D064307:Microbiota; D009093:Mucus / Q000382:microbiology; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D013455:Sulfur / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D048028:DNA, Algal; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D013455:Sulfur; D009584:Nitrogen