The Effect of Captivity on the Dynamics of Active Bacterial Communities Differs Between Two Deep-Sea Coral Species

• Main Authors: Pierre E. Galand, Leila Chapron, Anne-Leila Meistertzheim, Erwan Peru, Franck Lartaud
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-10-01
• Series: Frontiers in Microbiology
• Subjects: Lophelia pertusa; Madrepora oculata; DNA/RNA; bacteria; aquaria experiment
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02565/full

Microbes play a crucial role in sustaining the coral holobiont’s functions and in particular under the pressure of environmental stressors. The effect of a changing environment on coral health is now a major branch of research that relies heavily on aquarium experiments. However, the effect of captivity on the coral microbiome remains poorly known. Here we show that different cold-water corals species have different microbiome responses to captivity. For both the DNA and the RNA fraction, Madrepora oculata bacterial communities were maintained for at least 6 months of aquarium rearing, while Lophelia pertusa bacteria changed within a day. Interestingly, bacteria from the genus Endozoicomonas, a ubiquitous symbiont of numerous marine hosts, were resilient and remained active in M. oculata for several months. Our results demonstrate that a good knowledge of the coral microbiome and an understanding of the ecological strategy of the holobiont is needed before designing aquarium experiments.