ArticleMicrobiome2023
Unveiling microbiome changes in Mediterranean octocorals during the 2022 marine heatwaves: quantifying key bacterial symbionts and potential pathogens.
Article in Microbiome, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hidden Fungal Diversity of the Precious Mediterranean Red Coral Corallium rubrum.Environmental microbiology reports · 2026Article
- Role of Core Microbiome Shifts in Octocoral Litophyton Under Diurnal Temperature Fluctuations.Microbial ecology · 2026Article
- Article
- Unveiling the Microeukaryotic Landscape of the Red Coral Corallium rubrum Across the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea.Environmental microbiology reports · 2025Article
- Functional stability of Spirochaetota symbionts in the precious octocoral Corallium rubrum under heat stress.Environmental microbiome · 2025Article
- Microbiome Composition in a Common Mediterranean Bryozoan Following an Unprecedented Marine Heatwave.Environmental microbiology reports · 2025Article
- Heatwave-driven persistent microbes threaten the resilience of Mediterranean coral holobionts.Environmental microbiome · 2025Article
- Microbiome Dynamics in Early Life Stages of the Precious Mediterranean Red Coral Corallium rubrum.Environmental microbiology reports · 2025Article
- Phototrophic bacteria as potential probiotics for corals.npj biodiversity · 2025Review
- Ecophysiological responses to heat waves in the marine intertidal zone.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Review
- Selective shaping of prokaryotic communities and core symbiont maintenance suggest large-scale aquarium facilities as reservoirs of microbiome diversity in octocorals.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Unraveling the impact of marine heatwaves on the Eukaryome of the emblematic Mediterranean red coralISME communications · 2025Article
- Insights into the occurrence of phylosymbiosis and co-phylogeny in the holobionts of octocorals from the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea.Animal microbiome · 2024Article
- Coral microbiomes are structured by environmental gradients in deep waters.Environmental microbiome · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundClimate change has accelerated the occurrence and severity of heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea and poses a significant threat to the octocoral species that form the foundation of marine animal forests (MAFs). As coral health intricately relies on the symbiotic relationships established between corals and microbial communities, our goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the role of bacteria in the observed tissue loss of key octocoral species following the unprecedented heatwaves in 2022.
resultsUsing amplicon sequencing and taxon-specific qPCR analyses, we unexpectedly found that the absolute abundance of the major bacterial symbionts, Spirochaetaceae (C. rubrum) and Endozoicomonas (P. clavata), remained, in most cases, unchanged between colonies with 0% and 90% tissue loss. These results suggest that the impairment of coral health was not due to the loss of the main bacterial symbionts. However, we observed a significant increase in the total abundance of bacterial opportunists, including putative pathogens such as Vibrio, which was not evident when only their relative abundance was considered. In addition, there was no clear relation between bacterial symbiont loss and the intensity of thermal stress, suggesting that factors other than temperature may have influenced the differential response of octocoral microbiomes at different sampling sites.
conclusionsOur results indicate that tissue loss in octocorals is not directly caused by the decline of the main bacterial symbionts but by the proliferation of opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria. Our findings thus underscore the significance of considering both relative and absolute quantification approaches when evaluating the impact of stressors on coral microbiome as the relative quantification does not accurately depict the actual changes in the microbiome. Consequently, this research enhances our comprehension of the intricate interplay between host organisms, their microbiomes, and environmental stressors, while offering valuable insights into the ecological implications of heatwaves on marine animal forests. Video Abstract.
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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.