Rosales Stephanie M, Clark Abigail S, Huebner Lindsay K, Ruzicka Rob R, Muller Erinn M
Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States.
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, United States.
Front Microbiol. 2020 Apr 23;11:681. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00681. eCollection 2020.
In 2014, Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) was first detected off the coast of Miami, FL, United States, and continues to persist and spread along the Florida Reef Tractr (FRT) and into the Caribbean. SCTLD can have up to a 61% prevalence in reefs and has affected at least 23 species of scleractinian corals. This has contributed to the regional near-extinction of at least one coral species, . Initial studies of SCTLD indicate microbial community shifts and cessation of lesion progression in response to antibiotics on some colonies. However, the etiology and abiotic sources of SCTLD transmission are unknown. To characterize SCTLD microbial signatures, we collected tissue samples from four affected coral species: , and . Tissue samples were from apparently healthy (AH) corals, and unaffected tissue (DU) and lesion tissue (DL) on diseased corals. Samples were collected in June 2018 from three zones: (1) vulnerable (ahead of the SCTLD disease boundary in the Lower Florida Keys), (2) endemic (post-outbreak in the Upper Florida Keys), and (3) epidemic (SCTLD was active and prevalent in the Middle Florida Keys). From each zone, sediment and water samples were also collected to identify whether they may serve as potential sources of transmission for SCTLD-associated microbes. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon high-throughput sequencing methods to characterize the microbiomes of the coral, water, and sediment samples. We identified a relatively higher abundance of the bacteria orders and in DL tissue compared to AH and DU tissue. Also, our results showed relatively higher abundances of in water from the endemic and epidemic zones compared to the vulnerable zone. and identified at higher relative abundances in DL samples were also detected in sediment samples, but not in water samples. Our data indicate that and may play a role in SCTLD and that sediment may be a source of transmission for and associated with SCTLD lesions.
2014年，石珊瑚组织损失病（SCTLD）首次在美国佛罗里达州迈阿密海岸被发现，并继续在佛罗里达礁区（FRT）持续存在并蔓延至加勒比地区。SCTLD在珊瑚礁中的患病率可达61%，并已影响到至少23种石珊瑚。这导致至少一种珊瑚物种在该地区近乎灭绝。对SCTLD的初步研究表明，一些珊瑚群体的微生物群落发生了变化，并且病变进展因抗生素而停止。然而，SCTLD传播的病因和非生物来源尚不清楚。为了表征SCTLD的微生物特征，我们从四种受影响的珊瑚物种中收集了组织样本： 、 和 。组织样本来自看似健康（AH）的珊瑚，以及患病珊瑚上未受影响的组织（DU）和病变组织（DL）。样本于2018年6月从三个区域采集：（1）易感染区（佛罗里达群岛下游SCTLD疾病边界之前），（2）流行区（佛罗里达群岛上游疫情爆发后），以及（3）疫区（SCTLD在佛罗里达群岛中部活跃且普遍存在）。从每个区域还采集了沉积物和水样，以确定它们是否可能作为SCTLD相关微生物的潜在传播源。我们使用16S rRNA基因扩增子高通量测序方法来表征珊瑚、水和沉积物样本的微生物群落。与AH和DU组织相比，我们在DL组织中发现细菌目 和 的丰度相对较高。此外，我们的结果表明，与易感染区相比，流行区和疫区水样中的 丰度相对较高。在DL样本中相对丰度较高的 和 在沉积物样本中也被检测到，但在水样中未被检测到。我们的数据表明， 和 可能在SCTLD中起作用，并且沉积物可能是与SCTLD病变相关的 和 的传播源。
