RAPID: MICROBIOME AND POPULATION DYNAMICS IN SCLERACTINIAN CORAL TISSUE LOSS DISEASE INFECTED CORALS IN PUERTO RICO

快速：波多黎各石珊瑚组织损失病感染珊瑚的微生物组和种群动态

• 批准号: 2000863
• 负责人: Ernesto Weil
• 金额: $ 15.28万
• 依托单位: University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-11-15 至 2024-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2000863&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; MICROBIOME; POPULATION; DYNAMICS; SCLERACTINIAN

Modern coral reefs are the result of thousands of years of growth and development, but their demise is occurring at alarming rates around the World. In the Caribbean alone, over 60% of live coral cover has been lost in many reefs in just 30-40 years. Consequently, their ecological and economic benefits to coastal communities are also declining. Disease outbreaks and more intense and frequent bleaching (loss of the microalgae in coral tissues) events associated with increasing water temperatures are some of the main factors for coral reef mass mortalities. The highly infectious and deadly Scleractinian Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), first identified in 2014 in Florida, is quickly moving through the Caribbean causing extensive mortalities across important reef-building corals. Current research is focused in after-infection events to identify the pathogen and characterize the signs, patterns and consequences of SCTLD transmission. This study investigates coral tissues and the coral-associated bacteria communities before, during and after the infection has occurred in reefs in Puerto Rico. The societal broader impact of the project relates to the significant ecosystem services provided by coral reefs, which are threatened by SCTLD. The project will also support training of a graduate student. Questions about etiological variability and the temporal dynamics of the microbiome in SCTLD-affected coral species remain unanswered. Specifically, this proposal addresses the following questions: (1) What are the changes in the microbiome composition and abundances of the susceptible coral species when infected with SCTLD? (2) What is the variability in virulence, prevalence and mortality within and amongst species in different phases of the infection and in different habitats? The research site is in La Parguera Natural Reserve, southwest Puerto Rico, where the research team has characterized and monitored several reefs and environmental conditions from the shore to the shelf edge since 2003. This project includes surveys of permanent transects and molecular characterization of tissue/mucus samples, and microbial communities within those, collected from healthy colonies of two to three of the most susceptible coral species (i.e., Meandrina meandrites, M. jacksoni and Orbicella faveolata) and colonies of two resistant species (i.e., Montastraea cavernosa, Porites astreoides) at the long-term monitoring site. The expected arrival of SCTLD to Puerto Rico in Fall 2019, offers the team of researchers a unique window of opportunity to capture reef biological conditions before, during and after infection to complement other research efforts to better understand the ecological dynamics, prevalence and consequences of this new deadly coral disease.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

现代珊瑚礁是数千年生长和发展的结果，但它们的消亡正在世界各地以惊人的速度发生。仅在加勒比地区，许多珊瑚礁在短短30-40年间就失去了60%以上的活珊瑚。因此，它们对沿海社区的生态和经济效益也在下降。与水温升高有关的疾病爆发和更强烈和频繁的白化（珊瑚组织中微藻的丧失）事件是造成珊瑚礁大量死亡的一些主要因素。2014年在佛罗里达州首次发现的具有高度传染性和致命性的硬核珊瑚组织丧失病（SCTLD）正在迅速蔓延到加勒比地区，导致重要的造礁珊瑚大量死亡。目前的研究主要集中在感染后事件，以确定病原体和表征SCTLD传播的迹象、模式和后果。本研究调查了波多黎各珊瑚礁感染之前、期间和之后的珊瑚组织和与珊瑚相关的细菌群落。项目对社会的广泛影响与珊瑚礁提供的重要生态系统服务有关，而这些生态系统服务受到SCTLD的威胁。该项目还将支持一名研究生的培训。在受sctld影响的珊瑚物种中，关于病因变异性和微生物组时间动态的问题仍然没有答案。具体而言，本提案解决了以下问题：(1)感染SCTLD后，易感珊瑚物种的微生物组组成和丰度发生了什么变化？(2)在感染的不同阶段和不同生境中，物种内部和物种之间的毒力、流行率和死亡率有何变化？研究地点位于波多黎各西南部的La Parguera自然保护区，自2003年以来，研究小组对从海岸到大陆架边缘的几个珊瑚礁和环境状况进行了特征和监测。该项目包括调查永久样带和组织/粘液样本的分子特征，以及这些样本中的微生物群落，这些样本是从长期监测点的两到三种最易感染的珊瑚物种（即Meandrina meandrites、M. jacksoni和Orbicella faveolata）的健康菌落和两种耐药物种（即Montastraea海绵状珊瑚、Porites astreoides）的菌落中收集的。预计SCTLD将于2019年秋季抵达波多黎各，为研究团队提供了一个独特的机会窗口，可以在感染之前，期间和之后捕捉珊瑚礁生物状况，以补充其他研究工作，以更好地了解这种新的致命珊瑚疾病的生态动态，流行率和后果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Spread of the New Coral Disease “SCTLD” into the Caribbean: Implications for Puerto Rico

新珊瑚病“SCTLD”传播到加勒比海：对波多黎各的影响

• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Coral reef newsletter
• 作者: Weil E, Hernández-Delgado EA