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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate in corals and its interrelations with bacterial assemblages in coral surface mucus

P. R. Frade A B G , V. Schwaninger C , B. Glasl A , E. Sintes A , R. W. Hill D , R. Simó E and G. J. Herndl A F
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A University of Vienna, Department of Limnology and Bio-Oceanography, Althanstrasse 14, AT-1090 Vienna, Austria.

B Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity (CARMABI) Foundation, Piscaderabaai z/n, PO Box 2090, Willemstad, Curaçao.

C University of Innsbruck, Institute of Ecology, Technikerstrasse 25, AT-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.

D Michigan State University, Department of Zoology, 288 Farm Lane RM 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

E Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, E-08003 Barcelona, Spain.

F Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Department of Biological Oceanography, 1790 AB Den Burg, Netherlands.

G Corresponding author. Email: pedro.rodrigues.frade@univie.ac.at

Environmental Chemistry 13(2) 252-265 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN15023
Submitted: 24 January 2015  Accepted: 3 April 2015   Published: 27 August 2015

Journal Compilation © CSIRO Publishing 2016 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Environmental context. Corals produce copious amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur compound implicated in climate regulation. We studied DMSP concentrations inside corals and unveiled the linkage between DMSP availability and the abundance of DMSP-degrading bacterial groups inhabiting the corals’ surface. Our findings suggest that DMSP mediates the interplay between corals and microbes, highlighting the importance of sulfur compounds for microbial processes in corals and for the resilience of coral reef ecosystems.

Abstract. Corals produce copious amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur compound thought to play a role in structuring coral-associated bacterial communities. We tested the hypothesis that a linkage exists between DMSP availability in coral tissues and the community dynamics of bacteria in coral surface mucus. We determined DMSP concentrations in three coral species (Meandrina meandrites, Porites astreoides and Siderastrea siderea) at two sampling depths (5 and 25 m) and times of day (dawn and noon) at Curaçao, Southern Caribbean. DMSP concentration (4–409 nmol cm–2 coral surface) varied with host species-specific traits such as Symbiodinium cell abundance, but not with depth or time of sampling. Exposure of corals to air caused a doubling of their DMSP concentration. The phylogenetic affiliation of mucus-associated bacteria was examined by clone libraries targeting three main subclades of the bacterial DMSP demethylase gene (dmdA). dmdA gene abundance was determined by quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) against a reference housekeeping gene (recA). Overall, a higher availability of DMSP corresponded to a lower relative abundance of the dmdA gene, but this pattern was not uniform across all host species or bacterial dmdA subclades, suggesting the existence of distinct DMSP microbial niches or varying dmdA DMSP affinities. This is the first study quantifying dmdA gene abundance in corals and linking related changes in the community dynamics of DMSP-degrading bacteria to DMSP availability. Our study suggests that DMSP mediates the regulation of microbes by the coral host and highlights the significance of sulfur compounds for microbial processes in coral reefs.


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