Reef Sediments Can Act As a Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Vector
Reef Sediments Can Act As a Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Vector
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DOI：
10.3389/fmars.2021.815698
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发表时间：
2022-01-13
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Enochs, Ian C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Studivan, Michael S.;Rossin, Ashley M.;Enochs, Ian C.
石珊瑚组织损失病 (SCTLD) 于 2014 年在佛罗里达州迈阿密戴德县弗吉尼亚礁岛附近首次观察到。现场采样、实验室实验和建模方法表明，珊瑚礁沉积物可能在 SCTLD 传播中发挥作用，尽管积极的联系尚未经过实验测试。我们使用统计独立的疾病装置进行了异位传播测定，以测试在患病和健康珊瑚组织之间没有直接接触的情况下，珊瑚礁沉积物是否可以传播 SCTLD。我们评估了两种沉积物接种方法：使用患病的海绵状蒙塔斯特雷亚整个菌落对从佛罗里达州东南部收集的沉积物进行批量接种，以及在类似 5 cm(2) 珊瑚碎片的独立二次感染后对沉积物进行单独接种。珊瑚物种 Orbicella faveolata 和 M. cavernosa 的健康碎片暴露于这些患病沉积物处理以及直接疾病接触和健康沉积物控制中。尽管与疾病接触对照相比，感染个体的比例较低，但在批次和个体患病沉积物接种处理中均观察到 SCTLD 传播。不同物种和疾病处理之间的病变发生时间存在显着差异，最显着的感染发生在单个患病沉积物处理的 24 小时内。感染后，通过组织学检查确认组织样本是否存在 SCTLD 迹象，并分析沉积物子样本以了解处理之间的微生物群落变化，从而识别出沉积物中与经历组织损失的珊瑚相关的 16 个 SCTLD 指示类群。这项研究表明，珊瑚礁沉积物确实可以通过患病珊瑚和健康珊瑚之间的间接接触来传播 SCTLD，并为 SCTLD 传播通过一种或多种传染源发生的说法提供了可信度。这项研究强调，迫切需要了解沉积物微生物群落和沿海开发活动可能对整个流行区 SCTLD 持续存在的作用，特别是在佛罗里达州和更广泛的加勒比地区的管理和保护战略背景下。
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first observed in 2014 near Virginia Key in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Field sampling, lab experiments, and modeling approaches have suggested that reef sediments may play a role in SCTLD transmission, though a positive link has not been tested experimentally. We conducted an ex situ transmission assay using a statistically-independent disease apparatus to test whether reef sediments can transmit SCTLD in the absence of direct contact between diseased and healthy coral tissue. We evaluated two methods of sediment inoculation: batch inoculation of sediments collected from southeast Florida using whole colonies of diseased Montastraea cavernosa, and individual inoculations of sediments following independent, secondary infections of similar to 5 cm(2) coral fragments. Healthy fragments of the coral species Orbicella faveolata and M. cavernosa were exposed to these diseased sediment treatments, as well as direct disease contact and healthy sediment controls. SCTLD transmission was observed for both batch and individual diseased sediment inoculation treatments, albeit with lower proportions of infected individuals as compared to disease contact controls. The time to onset of lesions was significantly different between species and among disease treatments, with the most striking infections occurring in the individual diseased sediment treatment in under 24 h. Following infection, tissue samples were confirmed for the presence of SCTLD signs via histological examination, and sediment subsamples were analyzed for microbial community variation between treatments, identifying 16 SCTLD indicator taxa in sediments associated with corals experiencing tissue loss. This study demonstrated that reef sediments can indeed transmit SCTLD through indirect exposure between diseased and healthy corals, and adds credence to the assertion that SCTLD transmission occurs via an infectious agent or agents. This study emphasizes the critical need to understand the roles that sediment microbial communities and coastal development activities may have on the persistence of SCTLD throughout the endemic zone, especially in the context of management and conservation strategies in Florida and the wider Caribbean.