Nakoa Joseph W P, Burns John H R, Pascoe Makoa, Cortes Manuela, Ferreira Sofia B, Pascoe Kailey H, Kane Haunani H, Kapono Clifford A
School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.
MEGA Lab, Hilo, HI, United States.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Jul 28;16:1626064. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1626064. eCollection 2025.
Coral reefs are diverse marine ecosystems that provide essential ecological services, yet they are becoming increasingly degraded by anthropogenic stressors. Sediment deposition from land-based runoff can smother corals, reduce light availability, and alter the chemical and microbial composition of the water column. Prolonged sediment exposure disrupts coral-associated microbial communities, particularly within the surface mucus layer (SML), a physical barrier that mediates host-microbe interactions.
We investigated shifts in the SML microbiome of corals in response to an acute sedimentation event at Honoli'i, Hawai'i. Microbial community structure was characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, at three time points, before, during, and after the sedimentation event, to identify changes in microbial composition and diversity.
Sedimentation caused a significant decline in microbial diversity and shifted community composition, with the most pronounced changes observed post-sedimentation. Indicator species analyses identified 206 bacterial taxa associated with specific sedimentation periods, including enrichment of Flavobacteriaceae during sedimentation and dominance of Endozoicimonaceae after sedimentation.
These findings demonstrate that sedimentation induces both immediate and delayed shifts in the SML microbiome, with potential implications for coral resilience. This study advances our understanding of how sedimentation affects coral-associated microbiomes and emphasizes the need to investigate the functional roles of microbial taxa involved in community transitions and recovery to inform conservation strategies.
珊瑚礁是多样的海洋生态系统，提供重要的生态服务，但它们正日益受到人为压力源的破坏。陆地径流带来的沉积物沉积会覆盖珊瑚，减少光照，改变水柱的化学和微生物组成。长期暴露于沉积物会破坏与珊瑚相关的微生物群落，尤其是在表面黏液层（SML）内，这是一个介导宿主与微生物相互作用的物理屏障。
我们调查了夏威夷霍诺利伊的珊瑚表面黏液层微生物组对急性沉积事件的响应变化。在沉积事件发生前、期间和之后的三个时间点，使用16S rRNA基因测序对微生物群落结构进行表征，以确定微生物组成和多样性的变化。
沉积导致微生物多样性显著下降，并使群落组成发生变化，沉积后观察到的变化最为明显。指示物种分析确定了206个与特定沉积期相关的细菌分类群，包括沉积期间黄杆菌科的富集和沉积后内共生菌科的优势。
这些发现表明，沉积会引起表面黏液层微生物组的即时和延迟变化，对珊瑚的恢复力可能产生影响。这项研究增进了我们对沉积如何影响与珊瑚相关的微生物组的理解，并强调需要研究参与群落转变和恢复的微生物分类群的功能作用，以为保护策略提供信息。
