Microbial dysbiosis reflects disease resistance in diverse coral species

Alexandra Gutting,Caleb Butler,Nicholas J Macknight,Lauren Fuess,Andia Chaves-Fonnegra,Marilyn Brandt,Danielle Lasseigne,Kathryn Cobleigh,Jendahye Antoine,Laura D Mydlarz,Erinn M Muller,Bradford Dimos,Contessa Ricci

doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02163-5

Abstract

Disease outbreaks have caused significant declines of keystone coral species. While forecasting disease outbreaks based on environmental factors has progressed, we still lack a comparative understanding of susceptibility among coral species that would help predict disease impacts on coral communities. The present study compared the phenotypic and microbial responses of seven Caribbean coral species with diverse life-history strategies after exposure to white plague disease. Disease incidence and lesion progression rates were evaluated over a seven-day exposure. Coral microbiomes were sampled after lesion appearance or at the end of the experiment if no disease signs appeared. A spectrum of disease susceptibility was observed among the coral species that corresponded to microbial dysbiosis. This dysbiosis promotes greater disease susceptiblity in coral perhaps through different tolerant thresholds for change in the microbiome. The different disease susceptibility can affect coral’s ecological function and ultimately shape reef ecosystems.

Highlights

Disease outbreaks have caused significant declines of keystone coral species
We identified differences among coral species in their phenotypic responses to White plague disease (WPD) exposure but in their microbial responses as well
M. cavernosa did not show signs of lesion development in any fragment exposed to WPD

Summary

Introduction

Disease outbreaks have caused significant declines of keystone coral species. While forecasting disease outbreaks based on environmental factors has progressed, we still lack a comparative understanding of susceptibility among coral species that would help predict disease impacts on coral communities. Stressors on ecosystems driven by climate change, habitat loss and alteration, and globalization have increased disease prevalence, in some cases leading to devastating outbreak events in wild populations[3,4,5]. These outbreaks have reshaped entire ecosystems, both terrestrial and marine[6]. We can evaluate thresholds of microbial change before host and microbiome symbiosis break down into a diseased state, consider coral disease etiology beyond the singular pathogen hypothesis, monitor the compounding effects of multiple stress events, and predict coral species survival likelihood[34,35,36,37]

Methods

Results

Conclusion