Development and validation of an experimental life support system to study coral reef microbial communities
In the present study, we developed and validated an experimental life support system (ELSS) designed to investigate coral reef associated bacterial communities. The microcosms in the ELSS consisted of coral reef sediment, synthetic seawater, and specimens of five benthic reef species. These included...
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Published in | Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 21260 - 16 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
11.09.2024
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | In the present study, we developed and validated an experimental life support system (ELSS) designed to investigate coral reef associated bacterial communities. The microcosms in the ELSS consisted of coral reef sediment, synthetic seawater, and specimens of five benthic reef species. These included two hard corals
Montipora digitata
and
Montipora capricornis
, a soft coral
Sarcophyton glaucum
, a zoanthid
Zoanthus
sp., and a sponge
Chondrilla
sp.. Physicochemical parameters and bacterial communities in the ELSS were similar to those observed at shallow coral reef sites. Sediment bacterial evenness and higher taxonomic composition were more similar to natural-type communities at days 29 and 34 than at day 8 after transfer to the microcosms, suggesting microbial stabilization after an initial recovery period. Biotopes were compositionally distinct but shared a number of ASVs. At day 34, sediment specific ASVs were found in hosts and visa versa. Transplantation significantly altered the bacterial community composition of
M. digitata
and
Chondrilla
sp., suggesting microbial adaptation to altered environmental conditions. Altogether, our results support the suitability of the ELSS developed in this study as a model system to investigate coral reef associated bacterial communities using multi-factorial experiments. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Undefined-3 |
ISSN: | 2045-2322 2045-2322 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-024-69514-0 |