Microbial Community Metabolism of Coral Reef Exometabolomes Broadens the Chemodiversity of Labile Dissolved Organic Matter
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises diverse compounds with variable bioavailability across aquatic ecosystems. The sources and quantities of DOM can influence microbial growth and community structure with effects on biogeochemical processes. To investigate the chemodiversity of labile DOM in tropical reef waters, we tracked microbial utilisation of over 3000 untargeted mass spectrometry ion features exuded from two coral and three algal species. Roughly half of these features clustered into over 500 biologically labile spectral subnetworks annotated to diverse structural superclasses, including benzenoids, lipids, organic acids, heterocyclics and phenylpropanoids, comprising on average one-third of the ion richness and abundance within each chemical class. Distinct subsets of these labile compounds were exuded by algae and corals during the day and night, driving differential microbial growth and substrate utilisation. This study expands the chemical diversity of labile marine DOM with implications for carbon cycling in coastal environments.
Authors
- Craig E. Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2525-3496)
- Daniel Petras (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6561-3022)
- Zachary A. Quinlan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0351-8927)
- Linda Wegley Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9157-4426)
- Jacqueline Comstock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2795-8089)
- Irina Koester (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1571-882X)
- Craig A. Carlson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2591-5293)
- Brandie White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8632-8511)
- Louis‐Félix Nothias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6711-6719)
- Pieter C. Dorrestein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3003-1030)
- Lihini I. Aluwihare (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5031-9464)
- Andreas F. Haas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1150-8841)
- Barbara Bailey
Institutions
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Université Côte d'Azur (FR)
- San Diego State University (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Institut de Chimie de Nice (FR)
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NL)
- University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant (US)
- University of Montana (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Environmental Microbiology
- Published
- 2025-03-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.70064
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.58
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Hawai'i Sea Grant, University of Hawai'i