Insights into the Coral Microbiome: Underpinning the Health and Resilience of Reef Ecosystems

2016/08/02 by David G. Bourne, Kathleen M. Morrow, Nicole S. Webster · 7 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine and coastal plant biology #Marine Sponges and Natural Products

paper · pdf · doi:10.1146/annurev-micro-102215-095440

openalex publication_date 2016/08/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Corals are fundamental ecosystem engineers, creating large, intricate reefs that support diverse and abundant marine life. At the core of a healthy coral animal is a dynamic relationship with microorganisms, including a mutually beneficial symbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium spp.) and enduring partnerships with an array of bacterial, archaeal, fungal, protistan, and viral associates, collectively termed the coral holobiont. The combined genomes of this coral holobiont form a coral hologenome, and genomic interactions within the hologenome ultimately define the coral phenotype. Here we integrate contemporary scientific knowledge regarding the ecological, host-specific, and environmental forces shaping the diversity, specificity, and distribution of microbial symbionts within the coral holobiont, explore physiological pathways that contribute to holobiont fitness, and describe potential mechanisms for holobiont homeostasis. Understanding the role of the microbiome in coral resilience, acclimation, and environmental adaptation is a new frontier in reef science that will require large-scale collaborative research efforts.

Citations

• Host Biology in Light of the Microbiome: Ten Principles of Holobionts and Hologenomes
• Carbon translocation from symbiont to host depends on irradiance and food availability in the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata
• Corals Form Characteristic Associations with Symbiotic Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria
• Natural volcanic CO2 seeps reveal future trajectories for host–microbial associations in corals and sponges
• Do the organic sulfur compounds DMSP and DMS drive coral microbial associations?
• Biological and chemical characteristics of the coral gastric cavity
• Coral-Associated Bacterial Assemblages: Current Knowledge and the Potential for Climate-Driven Impacts
• Reef Corals: Mutualistic Symbioses Adapted to Nutrient-Poor Environments

Cited by

• The Life Aquatic at the Microscale
• Deciphering Coral Disease Dynamics: Integrating Host, Microbiome, and the Changing Environment
• Coral Reef Microorganisms in a Changing Climate
• Coral Restoration in the Omics Era: Development of Point‐of‐Care Tools for Monitoring Disease, Reproduction, and Thermal Stress
• Coral [wikipedia]
• Marine microbiome [wikipedia]
• Microbiome [wikipedia]