Coral—the world's most diverse symbiotic ecosystem

Linda L. Blackall; Bryan Wilson; Madeleine J. H. van Oppen

doi:10.1111/mec.13400

journal article Oct 21, 2015

Coral—the world's most diverse symbiotic ecosystem

Linda L. Blackall Bryan Wilson

Madeleine J. H. van Oppen

Molecular Ecology Vol. 24 No. 21 pp. 5330-5347 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1111/mec.13400

Abstract

AbstractZooxanthellate corals (i.e. those harbouring Symbiodinium) are the main builders of the world's shallow‐water marine coral reefs. They represent intimate diverse symbioses between coral animals, single‐celled photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.), other microscopic eukaryotes, prokaryotes and viruses. Crabs and other crustaceans, worms, sponges, bivalves and hydrozoans, fishes, sea urchins, octopuses and sea stars are itinerant members of these ‘rainforests of the sea’. This review focuses on the biodiversity of scleractinian coral animals and their best studied microscopic epi‐ and endosymbionts. In relation to coral‐associated species diversity, Symbiodinium internal transcribed spacer region sequence types tally 102–103 or up to ~15 different operational taxonomic units (OTUs, or putative species at the 97% sequence identity level; this cut‐off was chosen based on intragenomic sequence diversity observed in monoclonal cultures) and prokaryotes (mostly bacterial) total 102–104 OTUs. We analysed all publically accessible 16S rRNA gene sequence data and found Gammaproteobacteria were extremely abundant, followed by Alphaproteobacteria. Notably, Archaea were poorly represented and ‘unassigned OTUs’ were abundant in data generated by high‐throughput DNA sequencing studies of corals. We outline and compare model systems that could be used in future studies of the coral holobiont. In our future directions, we recommend a global coral sampling effort including substantial attention being paid to method of coral tissue acquisition, which compartments (mucus, tissue, skeleton) to explore, broadening the holobiont members considered and linking biodiversity with functional investigations.

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Details

Published: Oct 21, 2015
Vol/Issue: 24(21)
Pages: 5330-5347
License: View

Authors

L

Linda L. Blackall

Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology Swinburne University of Technology Melbourne Vic. 3122 Australia

B

Bryan Wilson

Marine Microbiology Research Group Department of Biology University of Bergen Thormøhlensgate 53B 5020 Bergen Norway

M

Madeleine J. H. van Oppen

Australian Institute of Marine Science PMB No. 3 Townsville MC Qld. 4810 Australia; School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Vic. 3010 Australia

Cite This Article

Linda L. Blackall, Bryan Wilson, Madeleine J. H. van Oppen (2015). Coral—the world's most diverse symbiotic ecosystem. Molecular Ecology, 24(21), 5330-5347. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13400

Coral—the world's most diverse symbiotic ecosystem

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