Abstract
Although the early coral reef-bleaching warning system (NOAA/USA) is established, there is no feasible treatment that can minimize temperature bleaching and/or disease impacts on corals in the field. Here, we present the first attempts to extrapolate the widespread and well-established use of bacterial consortia to protect or improve health in other organisms (e.g., humans and plants) to corals. Manipulation of the coral-associated microbiome was facilitated through addition of a consortium of native (isolated from Pocillopora damicornis and surrounding seawater) putatively beneficial microorganisms for corals (pBMCs), including five Pseudoalteromonas sp., a Halomonas taeanensis and a Cobetia marina-related species strains. The results from a controlled aquarium experiment in two temperature regimes (26 °C and 30 °C) and four treatments (pBMC; pBMC with pathogen challenge – Vibrio coralliilyticus, VC; pathogen challenge, VC; and control) revealed the ability of the pBMC consortium to partially mitigate coral bleaching. Significantly reduced coral-bleaching metrics were observed in pBMC-inoculated corals, in contrast to controls without pBMC addition, especially challenged corals, which displayed strong bleaching signs as indicated by significantly lower photopigment contents and Fv/Fm ratios. The structure of the coral microbiome community also differed between treatments and specific bioindicators were correlated with corals inoculated with pBMC (e.g., Cobetia sp.) or VC (e.g., Ruegeria sp.). Our results indicate that the microbiome in corals can be manipulated to lessen the effect of bleaching, thus helping to alleviate pathogen and temperature stresses, with the addition of BMCs representing a promising novel approach for minimizing coral mortality in the face of increasing environmental impacts.
Highlights
IntroductionShallow-water tropical corals build the structural framework that supports the enormous macro- and microbial biological diversity found in reef ecosystems [1, 5]
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.Shallow-water tropical corals build the structural framework that supports the enormous macro- and microbial biological diversity found in reef ecosystems [1, 5]
The results generated from a controlled and replicated aquarium experiment demonstrated the ability of a selected putatively beneficial microorganisms for corals (pBMCs) consortium to partially mitigate coral bleaching induced through both temperature and putative pathogen challenge, proving the concepts that (a) it is possible to manipulate the coral microbiome and (b) this manipulation can influence the coral health status
Summary
Shallow-water tropical corals build the structural framework that supports the enormous macro- and microbial biological diversity found in reef ecosystems [1, 5]. Despite their key ecological role, coral reefs are threatened by many global. While global action on climate combined with local efforts to actively protect corals from impacts remains a priority, the dire outlook for coral reefs over the coming century has necessitated investigation of other approaches to build resistance and/or resilience into coral populations. Introduction of selectively bred resistant corals has been proposed as a novel approach; the native corals’ ability to cope with predicted warming and other environmental stresses (e.g., pathogens) needs investigation [13]
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