Fundamental Coral-Microbial Associations

造礁珊瑚在全球范围内正在减少，部分原因是气候变化和其他人类活动，了解珊瑚生物学的哪些方面因环境压力而退化，从而导致珊瑚死亡变得越来越重要。现在众所周知，珊瑚中有细菌和古细菌群落，它们被认为在维持宿主健康方面发挥着重要作用，但我们对经常居住在健康的造礁珊瑚中的微生物同系物的身份缺乏任何明显的了解。这个项目提出了一个中心问题：造礁珊瑚是否拥有在其组织内共生的基本或持久的微生物同系物？为了解决这一假设，研究人员将使用各种分子和显微镜方法来评估细菌和古菌微生物的身份，其中包括鉴定和定位属于内生单胞菌属的一组广泛的珊瑚细菌。这项研究的结果将被用来开发关于这些微生物在营养循环中的作用以及它们如何对珊瑚的健康和生存做出贡献的其他问题。该项目将对我们了解健康的造礁珊瑚中的微生物联系产生重大影响，并支持为包括财政资源有限国家的珊瑚科学家在内的更广泛的科学界开发珊瑚微生物数据库。本科生和当地高中生都将接受研究技术方面的培训，并由研究人员进行指导，该项目的发现将通过开放获取的出版物和新闻稿向科学家和公众传达。首席调查员还将在宣传珊瑚礁对社会的重要性的工作中与公众和K-12年级的学生接触。

Reef-building corals are in decline worldwide due in part to climate change and other human activities, and it is becoming increasingly important to understand what aspects of coral biology are degraded by environmental stress which then leads to coral mortality. It is now widely known that corals harbor communities of bacteria and archaea that are believed to play important roles in maintaining the health of their hosts, but we lack any appreciable understanding about the identity of the microbial associates regularly residing within healthy, reef-building corals. This project asks the central question; do reef-building corals harbor fundamental or persistent microbial associates that are symbiotic within their tissues? In order to address this hypothesis, the investigator will assess the identity of the bacterial and archaeal microbes using a variety of molecular and microscopy approaches that includes the identification and localization of a widespread group of coral bacterial associates belonging to the genus Endozoicomonas. The results of this study will then be used to develop additional questions about the role of these microbial associates in nutrient cycling and how they contribute to the health and survival of corals. This project will have a significant impact on our understanding of microbial associations in healthy, reef-building corals and support the development of a coral microbe database for the broader scientific community including coral scientists in countries with limited financial resources. Both undergraduate students as well as local high school students will be trained in research techniques and mentored by the investigator and discoveries resulting from this project will be communicated to scientists and the public through open-access publications and news releases. The principal investigator will also engage with the public and K-12 students during outreach efforts on the importance of coral reefs to society.