Variability in Microbial Community Composition and Function Between Different Niches Within a Coral Reef
Name
248_2013_Article_362.pdf
Size
715.82 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c3f1540084a7fb3d99be8b092fe4ba81
Author(s)
Tout, Jessica
Jeffries, Thomas C.
Webster, Nicole S.
Ralph, Peter J.
Seymour, Justin R.
Stocker, Roman
Date Issued
January 2014
Journal
Microbial Ecology
Publisher
Springer US
Citation
Tout, Jessica, Thomas C. Jeffries, Nicole S. Webster, Roman Stocker, Peter J. Ralph, and Justin R. Seymour. “Variability in Microbial Community Composition and Function Between Different Niches Within a Coral Reef.” Microbial Ecology 67, no. 3 (January 30, 2014): 540–552.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
To explore how microbial community composition and function varies within a coral reef ecosystem, we performed metagenomic sequencing of seawater from four niches across Heron Island Reef, within the Great Barrier Reef. Metagenomes were sequenced from seawater samples associated with (1) the surface of the coral species Acropora palifera, (2) the surface of the coral species Acropora aspera, (3) the sandy substrate within the reef lagoon and (4) open water, outside of the reef crest. Microbial composition and metabolic function differed substantially between the four niches. The taxonomic profile showed a clear shift from an oligotroph-dominated community (e.g. SAR11, Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus) in the open water and sandy substrate niches, to a community characterised by an increased frequency of copiotrophic bacteria (e.g. Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas, Alteromonas) in the coral seawater niches. The metabolic potential of the four microbial assemblages also displayed significant differences, with the open water and sandy substrate niches dominated by genes associated with core house-keeping processes such as amino acid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism as well as DNA and RNA synthesis and metabolism. In contrast, the coral surface seawater metagenomes had an enhanced frequency of genes associated with dynamic processes including motility and chemotaxis, regulation and cell signalling. These findings demonstrate that the composition and function of microbial communities are highly variable between niches within coral reef ecosystems and that coral reefs host heterogeneous microbial communities that are likely shaped by habitat structure, presence of animal hosts and local biogeochemical conditions.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-013-0362-5
