Ecological characteristics of symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria in an environmentally sensitive reef-building coral <i>Pocillopora</i> sp.

Liang Jiayuan; Deng Chuanqi; Xu Yongqian; Qin Liangyun; Chen Jinni; Ge Ruiqi; Huang Xueyong; Yu Kefu

doi:10.12284/hyxb2022032

Volume 44 Issue 2

Feb. 2022

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Liang Jiayuan，Deng Chuanqi，Xu Yongqian, et al. Ecological characteristics of symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria in an environmentally sensitive reef-building coral Pocillopora sp.[J]. Haiyang Xuebao，2022, 44(2)：102–112 doi: 10.12284/hyxb2022032

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Liang Jiayuan，Deng Chuanqi，Xu Yongqian, et al. Ecological characteristics of symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria in an environmentally sensitive reef-building coral Pocillopora sp.[J]. Haiyang Xuebao，2022, 44(2)：102–112 doi: 10.12284/hyxb2022032

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Ecological characteristics of symbiotic Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria in an environmentally sensitive reef-building coral Pocillopora sp.

doi: 10.12284/hyxb2022032

Liang Jiayuan^{1, 2
,},
Deng Chuanqi¹,
Xu Yongqian¹,
Qin Liangyun¹,
Chen Jinni¹,
Ge Ruiqi¹,
Huang Xueyong^{1, 2},
Yu Kefu^{1, 2
,
,}

1.
School of Marine Sciences, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
2.
Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Nanning 530004, China

Received Date: 2021-08-15
Rev Recd Date: 2021-10-20
Publish Date: 2022-02-28

Abstract

Abstract

Under the long-term influence of climate change and human activities, coral reefs have evolved into special ecosystems with different habitats in the South China Sea. However, the adaptation of corals to special habitats is inseparable from the regulation of endosymbiotic microorganisms. The analysis of ecological characteristics of endosymbiotic microorganisms could help to understand the mechanism of coral host adaptation to environmental changes and the evolutionary trend. In this study, an environmentally sensitive reef-building coral Pocillopora sp. was collected from low latitude Nansha Islands (NS) and Xisha Islands (XS) and the relatively high latitude Hainan Lingshui (LS) in the South China Sea. The community composition and cells density, and environmental correlation of key endosymbiotic microorganisms (Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria) were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) there were great differences in the community composition of Symbiodiniaceae subclades among NS, XS, and LS. The dominant subclades in Pocillopora sp. from NS and XS were D1, C1d, and C42 respectively, while those from LS were C42, C1d, C1p, C1, and C1t; (2) the dominant bacterial compositions included Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes in coral samples from different reef areas, while the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria with photosynthetic function increased significantly with the increase of latitude (from 0.95% of NS to 8.18% of LS, p<0.05); (3) in terms of the number of microbial cells in coral, the density of Symbiodiniaceae increased significantly with the increase of latitude (from (3.39±0.49)×10⁵ cells/cm²to (8.90±0.65)×10⁵ cells/cm² coral surface area, p=0.001<0.05), and there was also a higher absolute number of 16S rRNA gene copies in endosymbiotic bacteria in the relatively high latitude LS (p=0.001<0.05); (4) the correlation analysis of environmental factors showed that Symbiodiniaceae subclade D1 with potential thermal tolerance was positively correlated with sea surface temperature and transparency, while subclade C42 and Cyanobacteria were significantly negatively correlated with sea surface temperature and positively correlated with nutrient concentration. This study can provide insight into the micro-ecological mechanism of an environmentally sensitive coral Pocillopora sp. adaptation to environmental change and their evolutionary trend in the South China Sea.
- reef-building corals,
- Cyanobacteria,
- South China Sea,
- environmental adaptability,
- Symbiodiniaceae density

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References(54)

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