ReviewThe ISME journal2020
Down to the bone: the role of overlooked endolithic microbiomes in reef coral health.
Review in The ISME journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 140 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of cnidarian microbiomes reveals insights into the structure, specificity, and fidelity of marine associations.Nature communications · 2023Pooled it
- Coral-associated microbiome dynamics under thermal and pollution stress.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Environmental DNA reveals hidden eukaryotic diversity and fine-scale community patterns across seascape areas in the Northern Red Sea.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Host Evolutionary Lineage Shapes Assembly, Network Topology, and Metabolic Potential of Coral Skeletal Endolithic Microbiomes.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Convergent symbioses: morphology, life history, and niche specialization in coral and lichen mutualisms.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Benthic bacteria communities of coral reefs are shaped by sediment properties rather than coral trophic state.PloS one · 2026Article
- Limited contributions of bacteria and fungi to coral nutrition revealed by amino acid δCommunications biology · 2025Article
- Endolithic algae influence the skeletal microstructure and porosity of reef-building corals.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Spatially restricted coral bleaching as an ecological manifestation of within-colony heterogeneity.Communications biology · 2025Review
- Phototrophic bacteria as potential probiotics for corals.npj biodiversity · 2025Review
- Metagenomic Characterization of Microbiome Taxa Associated with Coral Reef Communities in North Area of Tabuk Region, Saudia Arabia.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A Multimarker Approach to Identify Microbial Bioindicators for Coral Reef Health Monitoring-Case Study in La Réunion Island.Microbial ecology · 2025Article
- Metabolic interactions between coral animal and endolithic bacterial communities.ISME communications · 2025Article
- Seasonal dynamics ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Article
- Progressive chronic tissue loss disease in Siderastrea siderea on Florida's coral reef.PloS one · 2025Article
- Epibiont communities on mussels in relation to parasitism and location in the rocky intertidal zone.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2024Article
- The coral microbiome in sickness, in health and in a changing world.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2024Review
- Seasonal dynamics and environmental drivers of tissue and mucus microbiomes in the staghorn coralPeerJ · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Reef-building corals harbour an astonishing diversity of microorganisms, including endosymbiotic microalgae, bacteria, archaea, and fungi. The metabolic interactions within this symbiotic consortium are fundamental to the ecological success of corals and the unique productivity of coral reef ecosystems. Over the last two decades, scientific efforts have been primarily channelled into dissecting the symbioses occurring in coral tissues. Although easily accessible, this compartment is only 2-3 mm thick, whereas the underlying calcium carbonate skeleton occupies the vast internal volume of corals. Far from being devoid of life, the skeleton harbours a wide array of algae, endolithic fungi, heterotrophic bacteria, and other boring eukaryotes, often forming distinct bands visible to the bare eye. Some of the critical functions of these endolithic microorganisms in coral health, such as nutrient cycling and metabolite transfer, which could enable the survival of corals during thermal stress, have long been demonstrated. In addition, some of these microorganisms can dissolve calcium carbonate, weakening the coral skeleton and therefore may play a major role in reef erosion. Yet, experimental data are wanting due to methodological limitations. Recent technological and conceptual advances now allow us to tease apart the complex physical, ecological, and chemical interactions at the heart of coral endolithic microbial communities. These new capabilities have resulted in an excellent body of research and provide an exciting outlook to further address the functional microbial ecology of the "overlooked" coral skeleton.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.