CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
BMC Microbiol. 2021 Apr 28;21(1):130. doi: 10.1186/s12866-021-02167-5.
The coral microbiome plays a key role in host health by being involved in energy metabolism, nutrient cycling, and immune system formation. Inoculating coral with beneficial bacterial consortia may enhance the ability of this host to cope with complex and changing marine environments. In this study, the coral Pocillopora damicornis was inoculated with a beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMC) consortium to investigate how the coral host and its associated microbial community would respond.
High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed no significant differences in bacterial community α-diversity. However, the bacterial community structure differed significantly between the BMC and placebo groups at the end of the experiment. Addition of the BMC consortium significantly increased the relative abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria, including the genera Mameliella and Endozoicomonas. Energy reserves and calcification rates of the coral host were also improved by the addition of the BMC consortium. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated that inoculation of coral with the exogenous BMC consortium improved the physiological status of the host by shifting the coral-associated microbial community structure.
Manipulating the coral-associated microbial community may enhance the physiology of coral in normal aquarium conditions (no stress applied), which may hypothetically contribute to resilience and resistance in this host.
珊瑚微生物组通过参与能量代谢、营养循环和免疫系统形成，在宿主健康中发挥着关键作用。接种有益的细菌共生体可以增强宿主应对复杂多变的海洋环境的能力。在这项研究中，我们用一种有益的珊瑚微生物（BMC）共生体接种了鹿角珊瑚，以研究珊瑚宿主及其相关微生物群落将如何做出反应。
高通量 16S rRNA 基因测序显示，细菌群落的 α 多样性没有显著差异。然而，在实验结束时，BMC 和安慰剂组之间的细菌群落结构有显著差异。添加 BMC 共生体显著增加了潜在有益细菌的相对丰度，包括 Mameliella 和 Endozoicomonas 属。添加 BMC 共生体还提高了珊瑚宿主的能量储备和钙化率。共现网络分析表明，通过改变珊瑚相关微生物群落结构，向珊瑚接种外源 BMC 共生体可改善宿主的生理状态。
操纵珊瑚相关微生物群落可以增强正常水族箱条件下（未施加压力）珊瑚的生理学特性，这可能有助于宿主的恢复力和抗性。
