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Hawthorn A, Berzins IK, Dennis MM, Kiupel M, Newton AL, Peters EC, Reyes VA, Work TM. An introduction to lesions and histology of scleractinian corals. Vet Pathol 2023; 60:529-546. [PMID: 37519147 DOI: 10.1177/03009858231189289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Stony corals (Scleractinia) are in the Phylum Cnidaria (cnidae referring to various types of stinging cells). They may be solitary or colonial, but all secrete an external, supporting aragonite skeleton. Large, colonial members of this phylum are responsible for the accretion of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical waters that form the foundations of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems. Coral reefs worldwide, but particularly in the Caribbean, are experiencing unprecedented levels of disease, resulting in reef degradation. Most coral diseases remain poorly described and lack clear case definitions, while the etiologies and pathogenesis are even more elusive. This introductory guide is focused on reef-building corals and describes basic gross and microscopic lesions in these corals in order to serve as an invitation to other veterinary pathologists to play a critical role in defining and advancing the field of coral pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aine Hawthorn
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
- U.S. Geological Survey, Seattle, WA
| | - Ilze K Berzins
- University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
- One Water, One Health, LLC, Golden Valley, MN
| | | | | | - Alisa L Newton
- ZooQuatic Laboratory, LLC, Baltimore, MD
- OCEARCH, Park City, UT
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2
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Aeby GS, Shore A, Jensen T, Ziegler M, Work T, Voolstra CR. A comparative baseline of coral disease in three regions along the Saudi Arabian coast of the central Red Sea. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246854. [PMID: 34242223 PMCID: PMC8270217 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral disease is a growing problem for coral reefs globally and diseases have been linked to thermal stress, excess nutrients, overfishing and other human impacts. The Red Sea is a unique environment for corals with a strong environmental gradient characterized by temperature extremes and high salinities, but minimal terrestrial runoff or riverine input and their associated pollution. Yet, relatively little is known about coral diseases in this region. Disease surveys were conducted at 22 reefs within three regions (Yanbu, Thuwal, Al Lith) in the central Red Sea along the Saudi Arabian coast. Surveys occurred in October 2015, which coincided with a hyperthermal-induced bleaching event. Our objectives were to 1) document types, prevalence, and distribution of coral diseases in a region with minimal terrestrial input, 2) compare regional differences in diseases and bleaching along a latitudinal gradient of environmental conditions, and 3) use histopathology to characterize disease lesions at the cellular level. Coral reefs of the central Red Sea had a widespread but a surprisingly low prevalence of disease (<0.5%), based on the examination of >75,750 colonies. Twenty diseases were recorded affecting 16 coral taxa and included black band disease, white syndromes, endolithic hypermycosis, skeletal eroding band, growth anomalies and focal bleached patches. The three most common diseases were Acropora white syndrome (59.1% of the survey sites), Porites growth anomalies (40.9%), and Porites white syndrome (31.8%). Sixteen out of 30 coral genera within transects had lesions and Acropora, Millepora and Lobophyllia were the most commonly affected. Cell-associated microbial aggregates were found in four coral genera including a first report in Stylophora. Differences in disease prevalence, coral cover, amount of heat stress as measured by degree heating weeks (DHW) and extent of bleaching was evident among sites. Disease prevalence was not explained by coral cover or DHW, and a negative relationship between coral bleaching and disease prevalence was found. The northern-most sites off the coast of Yanbu had the highest average disease prevalence and highest average DHW values but no bleaching. Our study provides a foundation and baseline data for coral disease prevalence in the central Red Sea, which is projected to increase as a consequence of increased frequency and severity of ocean warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Smith Aeby
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Amanda Shore
- Department of Biology, Farmingdale State College, Farmingdale, NY, United States of America
| | - Thor Jensen
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, SaudiArabia
| | - Maren Ziegler
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, SaudiArabia
- Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Thierry Work
- US Geological Survey, Wildlife Health Center, Honolulu Field Station, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America
| | - Christian R. Voolstra
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, SaudiArabia
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Oury N, Gélin P, Magalon H. Together stronger: Intracolonial genetic variability occurrence in Pocillopora corals suggests potential benefits. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:5208-5218. [PMID: 32607144 PMCID: PMC7319244 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated the occurrence of intracolonial genetic variability (IGV) in Pocillopora corals in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Ninety-six colonies were threefold-sampled from three sites in Reunion Island. Nubbins were genotyped using 13 microsatellite loci, and their multilocus genotypes compared. Over 50% of the colonies presented at least two different genotypes among their three nubbins, and IGV was found abundant in all sites (from 36.7% to 58.1%). To define the threshold distinguishing mosaicism from chimerism, we developed a new method based on different evolution models by computing the number of different alleles for the infinite allele model (IAM) and the Bruvo's distance for the stepwise mutation model (SMM). Colonies were considered as chimeras if their nubbins differed from more than four alleles and if the pairwise Bruvo's distance was higher than 0.12. Thus 80% of the IGV colonies were mosaics and 20% chimeras (representing almost 10% of the total sampling). IGV seems widespread in scleractinians and beyond the disabilities of this phenomenon reported in several studies, it should also bring benefits. Next steps are to identify these benefits and to understand processes leading to IGV, as well as factors influencing them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Oury
- UMR ENTROPIE (Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS)Université de La RéunionSt Denis, La RéunionFrance
| | - Pauline Gélin
- UMR ENTROPIE (Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS)Université de La RéunionSt Denis, La RéunionFrance
- Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAILPerpignanFrance
| | - Hélène Magalon
- UMR ENTROPIE (Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS)Université de La RéunionSt Denis, La RéunionFrance
- Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAILPerpignanFrance
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Rodríguez-Villalobos JC, Reyes-Bonilla H. History of perspectives on the study of coral disease in the eastern tropical Pacific. DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS 2019; 136:243-253. [PMID: 31724557 DOI: 10.3354/dao03411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Disease in coral species is one factor associated with the current degradation process of tropical reefs. The history of research on coral pathologies dates to 1970 with the first reports of diseases in the Greater Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions, although some anecdotal observations were made earlier. Today, there is information on the health conditions of >200 coral species in 70 countries. The special natural conditions under which reefs develop in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) and the predominance of a single coral genus, Pocillopora (a host highly susceptible to disease), leave them vulnerable to health impairments and the loss of viability, structure and function in the wider ecosystem. Therefore, coral reefs in the ETP are ideal systems for studies of biodiversity and survivorship. To clarify the status of knowledge on coral diseases in the ETP, we reviewed scientific studies conducted there from 1970-2018, comparing 127 publications to literature on other reef regions in the Pacific. Despite the vulnerability of reefs in the ETP, only limited information exists describing and investigating the etiology of lesions and other signs of health deterioration in corals, and there are few baseline studies of coral reefs or analyses of the spatial and temporal dynamics of disease syndromes. In general, efforts to study coral diseases in the ETP are inadequate.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C Rodríguez-Villalobos
- Departamento Académico de Biología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Carretera al sur Km 5. 5, Colonia El Mezquitito, CP 23080, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
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Neave MJ, Apprill A, Aeby G, Miyake S, Voolstra CR. Microbial Communities of Red Sea Coral Reefs. CORAL REEFS OF THE RED SEA 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-05802-9_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Qiu H, Zelzion E, Putnam HM, Gates RD, Wagner NE, Adams DK, Bhattacharya D. Discovery of SCORs: Anciently derived, highly conserved gene-associated repeats in stony corals. Genomics 2017. [PMID: 28634029 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2017.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Stony coral (Scleractinia) genomes are still poorly explored and many questions remain about their evolution and contribution to the success and longevity of reefs. We analyzed transcriptome and genome data from Montipora capitata, Acropora digitifera, and transcriptome data from 20 other coral species. To our surprise, we found highly conserved, anciently derived, Scleractinia COral-specific Repeat families (SCORs) that are abundant in all the studied lineages. SCORs form complex secondary structures and are located in untranslated regions and introns, but most abundant in intergenic DNA. These repeat families have undergone frequent duplication and degradation, suggesting a 'boom and bust' cycle of invasion and loss. We speculate that due to their surprisingly high sequence identities across deeply diverged corals, physical association with genes, and dynamic evolution, SCORs might have adaptive functions in corals that need to be explored using population genomic and function-based approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Qiu
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Ehud Zelzion
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | | | - Ruth D Gates
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
| | - Nicole E Wagner
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Diane K Adams
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Debashish Bhattacharya
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
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Putnam HM, Adams DK, Zelzion E, Wagner NE, Qiu H, Mass T, Falkowski PG, Gates RD, Bhattacharya D. Divergent evolutionary histories of DNA markers in a Hawaiian population of the coral Montipora capitata. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3319. [PMID: 28533967 PMCID: PMC5438590 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2016] [Accepted: 04/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated intra- and inter-colony sequence variation in a population of the dominant Hawaiian coral Montipora capitata by analyzing marker gene and genomic data. Ribosomal ITS1 regions showed evidence of a reticulate history among the colonies, suggesting incomplete rDNA repeat homogenization. Analysis of the mitochondrial genome identified a major (M. capitata) and a minor (M. flabellata) haplotype in single polyp-derived sperm bundle DNA with some colonies containing 2–3 different mtDNA haplotypes. In contrast, Pax-C and newly identified single-copy nuclear genes showed either no sequence differences or minor variations in SNP frequencies segregating among the colonies. Our data suggest past mitochondrial introgression in M. capitata, whereas nuclear single-copy loci show limited variation, highlighting the divergent evolutionary histories of these coral DNA markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hollie M Putnam
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United States of America.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, United States of America
| | - Diane K Adams
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States of America
| | - Ehud Zelzion
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States of America
| | - Nicole E Wagner
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States of America
| | - Huan Qiu
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States of America
| | - Tali Mass
- Marine Biology Department, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Paul G Falkowski
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States of America.,Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, United States of America
| | - Ruth D Gates
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United States of America
| | - Debashish Bhattacharya
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States of America
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White Syndrome-Affected Corals Have a Distinct Microbiome at Disease Lesion Fronts. Appl Environ Microbiol 2016; 83:AEM.02799-16. [PMID: 27815275 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02799-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral tissue loss diseases, collectively known as white syndromes (WSs), induce significant mortality on reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, yet definitive confirmation of WS etiologies remains elusive. In this study, we integrated ecological disease monitoring, bacterial community profiling, in situ visualization of microbe-host interactions, and cellular responses of the host coral through an 18-month repeated-sampling regime. We assert that the observed pathogenesis of WS lesions on acroporid corals at Lizard Island (Great Barrier Reef) is not the result of apoptosis or infection by Vibrio bacteria, ciliates, fungi, cyanobacteria, or helminths. Histological analyses detected helminths, ciliates, fungi, and cyanobacteria in fewer than 25% of WS samples, and helminths and fungi were also observed in 12% of visually healthy samples. The abundances of Vibrio-affiliated sequences (assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing) did not differ significantly between health states and never exceeded 3.3% of reads in any individual sample. In situ visualization detected Vibrio bacteria only in summer WS lesion samples and revealed no signs of these bacteria in winter disease samples (or any healthy tissue samples), despite continued disease progression year round. However, a 4-fold increase in Rhodobacteraceae-affiliated bacterial sequences at WS lesion fronts suggests that this group of bacteria could play a role in WS pathogenesis and/or serve as a diagnostic criterion for disease differentiation. While the causative agent(s) underlying WSs remains elusive, the microbial and cellular processes identified in this study will help to identify and differentiate visually similar but potentially distinct WS etiologies. IMPORTANCE Over the past decade, a virulent group of coral diseases known as white syndromes have impacted coral reefs throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This article provides a detailed case study of white syndromes to combine disease ecology, high-throughput microbial community profiling, and cellular-scale host-microbe visualization over seasonal time scales. We provide novel insights into the etiology of this devastating disease and reveal new diagnostic criteria that could be used to differentiate visually similar but etiologically distinct forms of white syndrome.
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Devlin‐Durante MK, Miller MW, Precht WF, Baums IB, Carne L, Smith TB, Banaszak AT, Greer L, Irwin A, Fogarty ND, Williams DE. How old are you? Genet age estimates in a clonal animal. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:5628-5646. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2016] [Revised: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- M. K. Devlin‐Durante
- Department of Biology The Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Lab University Park PA 16802 USA
| | - M. W. Miller
- Southeast Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service 75 Virginia Beach Dr. Miami FL 33149 USA
| | - W. F. Precht
- Marine & Coastal Programs Dial Cordy & Associates 90 Osceola Ave Jacksonville Beach FL 32250 USA
| | - I. B. Baums
- Department of Biology The Pennsylvania State University 208 Mueller Lab University Park PA 16802 USA
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Rinkevich B, Shaish L, Douek J, Ben-Shlomo R. Venturing in coral larval chimerism: a compact functional domain with fostered genotypic diversity. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19493. [PMID: 26758405 PMCID: PMC4725755 DOI: 10.1038/srep19493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The globally distributed coral species Pocillopora damicornis is known to release either sexual or asexual derived planula-larvae in various reef locations. Using microsatellite loci as markers, we documented the release of asexually derived chimeric larvae (CL), originating from mosaicked maternal colonies that were also chimeras, at Thai and Philippines reefs. The CL, each presenting different combinations of maternal genotypic constituents, create genetically-complex sets of asexual propagules. This novel mode of inheritance in corals challenges classical postulations of sexual/asexual reproduction traits, as asexual derived CL represent an alliance between genotypes that significantly sways the recruits' absolute fitness. This type of inherited chimerism, while enhancing intra-entity genetic heterogeneity, is an evolutionary tactic used to increase genetic-heterogeneity, primarily in new areas colonized by a limited number of larvae. Chimerism may also facilitate combat global change impacts by exhibiting adjustable genomic combinations of within-chimera traits that could withstand alterable environmental pressures, helping Pocillopora become a successful cosmopolitan species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baruch Rinkevich
- Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel
| | - Lee Shaish
- Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel.,Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Israel
| | - Jacob Douek
- Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel
| | - Rachel Ben-Shlomo
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa-Oranim, Tivon 36006, Israel
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Forsman ZH, Page CA, Toonen RJ, Vaughan D. Growing coral larger and faster: micro-colony-fusion as a strategy for accelerating coral cover. PeerJ 2015; 3:e1313. [PMID: 26500822 PMCID: PMC4614846 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusion is an important life history strategy for clonal organisms to increase access to shared resources, to compete for space, and to recover from disturbance. For reef building corals, fragmentation and colony fusion are key components of resilience to disturbance. Observations of small fragments spreading tissue and fusing over artificial substrates prompted experiments aimed at further characterizing Atlantic and Pacific corals under various conditions. Small (∼1–3 cm2) fragments from the same colony spaced regularly over ceramic tiles resulted in spreading at rapid rates (e.g., tens of square centimeters per month) followed by isogenic fusion. Using this strategy, we demonstrate growth, in terms of area encrusted and covered by living tissue, of Orbicella faveolata, Pseudodiploria clivosa, and Porites lobata as high as 63, 48, and 23 cm2 per month respectively. We found a relationship between starting and ending size of fragments, with larger fragments growing at a faster rate. Porites lobata showed significant tank effects on rates of tissue spreading indicating sensitivity to biotic and abiotic factors. The tendency of small coral fragments to encrust and fuse over a variety of surfaces can be exploited for a variety of applications such as coral cultivation, assays for coral growth, and reef restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zac H Forsman
- Division of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawaii , Honolulu, HI , United States ; Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology , Kaneohe, HI , United States
| | | | - Robert J Toonen
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology , Kaneohe, HI , United States
| | - David Vaughan
- Mote Marine Laboratory , Summerland Key, FL , United States
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Lozada-Misa P, Kerr A, Raymundo L. Contrasting Lesion Dynamics of White Syndrome among the scleractinian corals Porites spp. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129841. [PMID: 26120844 PMCID: PMC4488276 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
White syndrome (WS) is currently the most prevalent disease of scleractinian corals in the Indo-Pacific region, with an ability to exist in both epizootic and enzootic states. Here, we present results of an examination of WS lesion dynamics and show that potentially associated traits of host morphology (i.e., branching vs. massive), lesion size, and tissue deposition rate influence disease severity and recovery. Lesion healing rate was positively correlated with initial lesion size in both morphologies, but the rate at which lesions healed differed between morphologies. New lesions in branching Porites cylindrica appeared less frequently, were smaller and healed more quickly, but were more abundant than in closely-related massive Porites sp(p). The positive association between lesion size and healing rate was partly explained by geometry; branching limited lesion maximum size, and larger lesion margins contained more polyps producing new tissue, resulting in faster healing. However, massive colonies deposited tissue more slowly than branching colonies, resulting in slower recovery and more persistent lesions. Corallite size and density did not differ between species and did not, therefore, influence healing rate. We demonstrated multiple modes of pathogen transmission, which may be influenced by the greater potential for pathogen entrainment in branching vs. massive morphologies. We suggest that attributes such as colony morphology and species-specific growth rates require consideration as we expand our understanding of disease dynamics in colonial organisms such as coral.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Lozada-Misa
- NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America
| | - Alexander Kerr
- Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, Guam, United States of America
| | - Laurie Raymundo
- Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, Guam, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Schweinsberg M, Weiss LC, Striewski S, Tollrian R, Lampert KP. More than one genotype: how common is intracolonial genetic variability in scleractinian corals? Mol Ecol 2015; 24:2673-85. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2014] [Revised: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Schweinsberg
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity; University of Bochum; 44780 Bochum Germany
| | - Linda C. Weiss
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity; University of Bochum; 44780 Bochum Germany
| | - Sebastian Striewski
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity; University of Bochum; 44780 Bochum Germany
| | - Ralph Tollrian
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity; University of Bochum; 44780 Bochum Germany
| | - Kathrin P. Lampert
- Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity; University of Bochum; 44780 Bochum Germany
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Abstract
The authors documented gross and microscopic morphology of lesions in corals on 7 islands spanning western, southern, and eastern Micronesia, sampling 76 colonies comprising 30 species of corals among 18 genera, with Acropora, Porites, and Montipora dominating. Tissue loss comprised the majority of gross lesions sampled (41%), followed by discoloration (30%) and growth anomaly (29%). Of 31 cases of tissue loss, most lesions were subacute (48%), followed by acute and chronic (26% each). Of 23 samples with discoloration, most were dark discoloration (40%), with bleaching and other discoloration each constituting 30%. Of 22 growth anomalies, umbonate growth anomalies composed half, with exophytic, nodular, and rugose growth anomalies composing the remainder. On histopathology, for 9 cases of dark discoloration, fungal infections predominated (77%); for 7 bleached corals, depletion of zooxanthellae from the gastrodermis made up a majority of microscopic diagnoses (57%); and for growth anomalies other than umbonate, hyperplasia of the basal body wall was the most common microscopic finding (63%). For the remainder of the gross lesions, no single microscopic finding constituted >50% of the total. Host response varied with the agent present on histology. Fragmentation of tissues was most often associated with algae (60%), whereas necrosis dominated (53%) for fungi. Two newly documented potentially symbiotic tissue-associated metazoans were seen in Porites and Montipora. Findings of multiple potential etiologies for a given gross lesion highlight the importance of incorporating histopathology in coral disease surveys. This study also expands the range of corals infected with cell-associated microbial aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Work
- US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Honolulu Field Station, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - G S Aeby
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, USA
| | - K A Hughen
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
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15
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Work T, Meteyer C. To understand coral disease, look at coral cells. ECOHEALTH 2014; 11:610-8. [PMID: 24723160 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-014-0931-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Revised: 03/23/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2014] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Diseases threaten corals globally, but 40 years on their causes remain mostly unknown. We hypothesize that inconsistent application of a complete diagnostic approach to coral disease has contributed to this slow progress. We quantified methods used to investigate coral disease in 492 papers published between 1965 and 2013. Field surveys were used in 65% of the papers, followed by biodetection (43%), laboratory trials (20%), microscopic pathology (21%), and field trials (9%). Of the microscopic pathology efforts, 57% involved standard histopathology at the light microscopic level (12% of the total investigations), with the remainder dedicated to electron or fluorescence microscopy. Most (74%) biodetection efforts focused on culture or molecular characterization of bacteria or fungi from corals. Molecular and immunological tools have been used to incriminate infectious agents (mainly bacteria) as the cause of coral diseases without relating the agent to specific changes in cell and tissue pathology. Of 19 papers that declared an infectious agent as a cause of disease in corals, only one (5%) used microscopic pathology, and none fulfilled all of the criteria required to satisfy Koch's postulates as applied to animal diseases currently. Vertebrate diseases of skin and mucosal surfaces present challenges similar to corals when trying to identify a pathogen from a vast array of environmental microbes, and diagnostic approaches regularly used in these cases might provide a model for investigating coral diseases. We hope this review will encourage specialists of disease in domestic animals, wildlife, fish, shellfish, and humans to contribute to the emerging field of coral disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thierry Work
- Honolulu Field Station, National Wildlife Health Center, US Geological Survey, PO Box 50167, Honolulu, HI, 96850, USA,
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Work TM, Aeby GS, Lasne G, Tribollet A. Gross and microscopic pathology of hard and soft corals in New Caledonia. J Invertebr Pathol 2014; 120:50-8. [PMID: 24927644 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2014.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2013] [Revised: 05/24/2014] [Accepted: 05/27/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
We surveyed the reefs of Grande Terre, New Caledonia, for coral diseases in 2010 and 2013. Lesions encountered in hard and soft corals were systematically described at the gross and microscopic level. We sampled paired and normal tissues from 101 and 65 colonies in 2010 and 2013, respectively, comprising 51 species of corals from 27 genera. Tissue loss was the most common gross lesion sampled (40%) followed by discoloration (28%), growth anomalies (13%), bleaching (10%), and flatworm infestation (1%). When grouped by gross lesions, the diversity of microscopic lesions as measured by Shannon-Wiener index was highest for tissue loss, followed by discoloration, bleaching, and growth anomaly. Our findings document an extension of the range of certain diseases such as Porites trematodiasis and endolithic hypermycosis (dark spots) to the Western Pacific as well as the presence of a putative cnidarian endosymbiont. We also expand the range of species infected by cell-associated microbial aggregates, and confirm the trend that these aggregates predominate in dominant genera of corals in the Indo-Pacific. This study highlights the importance of including histopathology as an integral component of baseline coral disease surveys, because a given gross lesion might be associated with multiple potential causative agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thierry M Work
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Honolulu Field Station, PO Box 50187, Honolulu, HI 96850, USA.
| | - Greta S Aeby
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, PO Box 1346, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA
| | - Gregory Lasne
- BIOCENOSE MARINE Sarl, Centre IRD de Nouméa, 98848 Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia
| | - Aline Tribollet
- UMR IPSL-LOCEAN (UPMC/CNRS/IRD/MNHN), Centre IRD France Nord, 32 Av. Henri Varagnat, 93143 Bondy Cedex, France
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Work TM, Russell R, Aeby GS. Tissue loss (white syndrome) in the coral Montipora capitata is a dynamic disease with multiple host responses and potential causes. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:4334-41. [PMID: 22951746 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Tissue loss diseases or white syndromes (WS) are some of the most important coral diseases because they result in significant colony mortality and morbidity, threatening dominant Acroporidae in the Caribbean and Pacific. The causes of WS remain elusive in part because few have examined affected corals at the cellular level. We studied the cellular changes associated with WS over time in a dominant Hawaiian coral, Montipora capitata, and showed that: (i) WS has rapidly progressing (acute) phases mainly associated with ciliates or slowly progressing (chronic) phases mainly associated with helminths or chimeric parasites; (ii) these phases interchanged and waxed and waned; (iii) WS could be a systemic disease associated with chimeric parasitism or a localized disease associated with helminths or ciliates; (iv) corals responded to ciliates mainly with necrosis and to helminths or chimeric parasites with wound repair; (v) mixed infections were uncommon; and (vi) other than cyanobacteria, prokaryotes associated with cell death were not seen. Recognizing potential agents associated with disease at the cellular level and the host response to those agents offers a logical deductive rationale to further explore the role of such agents in the pathogenesis of WS in M. capitata and helps explain manifestation of gross lesions. This approach has broad applicability to the study of the pathogenesis of coral diseases in the field and under experimental settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thierry M Work
- US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Honolulu Field Station, Honolulu, HI 96850, USA.
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