Mussismilia braziliensis White Plague Disease Is Characterized by an Affected Coral Immune System and Dysbiosis
Name
248_2020_1588_ReferencePDF.pdf
Size
2.33 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
778904f3c469bb8474657b0f7c698c21
Author(s)
Silva-Lima, A. W
Froes, A. M
Garcia, G. D
Tonon, L. A C
Swings, J.
Cosenza, C. A N
Medina, M.
Penn, K.
Thompson, J. R
Thompson, C. C
Date Issued
October 1, 2020
Publisher
Springer US
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Abstract
Infectious diseases are one of the major drivers of coral reef decline worldwide. White plague-like disease (WPL) is a widespread disease with a complex etiology that infects several coral species, including the Brazilian endemic species Mussismilia braziliensis. Gene expression profiles of healthy and WPL-affected M. braziliensis were analyzed in winter and summer seasons. The de novo assembly of the M. braziliensis transcriptome from healthy and white plague samples produced a reference transcriptome containing 119,088 transcripts. WPL-diseased samples were characterized by repression of immune system and cellular defense processes. Autophagy and cellular adhesion transcripts were also repressed in WPL samples, suggesting exhaustion of the coral host defenses. Seasonal variation leads to plasticity in transcription with upregulation of intracellular signal transduction, apoptosis regulation, and oocyte development in the summer. Analysis of the active bacterial rRNA indicated that Pantoea bacteria were more abundant in WPL corals, while Tistlia, Fulvivirga, and Gammaproteobacteria Ga0077536 were more abundant in healthy samples. Cyanobacteria proliferation was also observed in WPL, mostly in the winter. These results indicate a scenario of dysbiosis in WPL-affected M. braziliensis, with the loss of potentially symbiotic bacteria and proliferation of opportunistic microbes after the start of the infection process.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01588-5
