Destabilization of mutualistic interactions shapes the early heat stress response of the coral holobiont
Marangon, Emma, Rädecker, Nils, Li, Joan Y.Q., Terzin, Marko, Buerger, Patrick, Webster, Nicole S., Bourne, David G., and Laffy, Patrick W. (2025) Destabilization of mutualistic interactions shapes the early heat stress response of the coral holobiont. Microbiome, 13 (1). 31.
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Abstract
Background: The stability of the symbiotic relationship between coral and their dinoflagellate algae (Symbiodiniaceae) is disrupted by ocean warming. Although the coral thermal response depends on the complex interactions between host, Symbiodiniaceae and prokaryotes, the mechanisms underlying the initial destabilization of these symbioses are poorly understood. Results: In a 2-month manipulative experiment, we exposed the coral Porites lutea to gradually increasing temperatures corresponding to 0–8 degree heating weeks (DHW) and assessed the response of the coral holobiont using coral and Symbiodiniaceae transcriptomics, microbial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and physiological measurements. From early stages of heat stress (< 1 DHW), the increase in metabolic turnover shifted the holobiont to a net heterotrophic state in which algal-derived nutrients were insufficient to meet host energy demands, resulting in reduced holobiont performance at 1 DHW. We postulate the altered nutrient cycling also affected the coral-associated microbial community, with the relative abundance of Endozoicomonas bacteria declining under increasing heat stress. Integration of holobiont stress responses correlated this decline to an increase in expression of a host ADP-ribosylation factor, suggesting that Symbiodiniaceae and Endozoicomonas may underlie similar endosymbiotic regulatory processes. Conclusions: The thermotolerance of coral holobionts therefore is influenced by the nutritional status of its members and their interactions, and this identified metabolic interdependency highlights the importance of applying an integrative approach to guide coral reef conservation efforts.
| Item ID: | 87730 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2049-2618 |
| Keywords: | Coral, Gene expression profiling, Heat stress, Holobiont, Microbiome, Physiology, Symbiodiniaceae, Symbiosis, Transcriptomics |
| Copyright Information: | © Crown 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Feb 2026 06:58 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100% |
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