Coral high molecular weight carbohydrates support opportunistic microbes in bacterioplankton from an algae-dominated reef
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) released by benthic primary producers fuels coral reef food webs. Anthropogenic stressors cause shifts from coral to algae dominance on many reefs, and resulting alterations in the DOM pool can promote opportunistic microbes and potential coral pathogens in reef water. To better understand these DOM-induced effects on bacterioplankton communities, we compared the carbohydrate composition of coral- and macroalgae-DOM and analyzed the response of bacterioplankton from an algae-dominated reef to these DOM types. In line with the proposed microbialization of reefs, coral-DOM was efficiently utilized, promoting energy transfer to higher trophic levels, whereas macroalgae-DOM likely stimulated microbial respiration over biomass production. Contrary to earlier findings, coral- and not algal-DOM selected for opportunistic microbial taxa, indicating that a change in the prevalent DOM composition, and not DOM type, may promote the rise of opportunistic microbes. Presented results may also apply to other coastal marine ecosystems undergoing benthic community shifts.
Authors
- Milou G. I. Arts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7245-5034)
- Craig E. Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2525-3496)
- Inga Hellige (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5290-8184)
- Hagen Buck‐Wiese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4807-5795)
- Linda Wegley Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9157-4426)
- Bianca Thobor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3862-1286)
- Meine D. Boer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4620-6964)
- Christian Wild (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9637-6536)
- Benjamin Mueller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9335-0437)
- Jan‐Hendrik Hehemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8700-2564)
- Nguyen P. Nguyen
- Andreas F. Haas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1150-8841)
Institutions
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- University of Bremen (DE)
- Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation (CW)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (DE)
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NL)
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (IS)
- University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant (US)
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mSystems
- Published
- 2024-10-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00832-24
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.29
Funders
- European Commission
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Universität Bremen
- Bentham-Moxon Trust
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
- H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions