Viruses of a key coral symbiont exhibit temperature-driven productivity across a reefscape

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1899377/v1

Download PDF

Article

Viruses of a key coral symbiont exhibit temperature-driven productivity across a reefscape

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1899377/v1

This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License

Journal Publication

published 02 Apr, 2023

Read the published version in ISME Communications →

Version 1

posted

You are reading this latest preprint version

One way viruses can affect coral health is by infecting their symbiotic dinoflagellate partners (Symbiodiniaceae). Yet, viral dynamics in coral colonies exposed to environmental stress have not been studied at the reef scale, particularly within individual viral lineages. We sequenced the viral major capsid protein (mcp) gene of positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses known to infect symbiotic dinoflagellates (‘dinoRNAVs’) to analyze their dynamics in the reef-building coral, Porites lobata. We repeatedly sampled 54 colonies harboring Cladocopium C15 dinoflagellates, across three environmentally distinct reef zones (fringing reef, back reef, and forereef) around the island of Moorea, French Polynesia over a three-year period, and spanning a reef-wide thermal stress event. By the end of the sampling period, 28% (5/18) of corals in the fringing reef experienced partial mortality versus 78% (14/18) in the forereef. Over 90% (50/54) of colonies had detectable dinoRNAV infections. Reef zone influenced the composition and richness of viral mcp amino acid types (‘aminotypes’), with the fringing reef containing the highest aminotype richness. The reef-wide thermal stress event significantly increased aminotype dispersion, and this pattern was strongest in the colonies that experienced partial mortality. These findings demonstrate that dinoRNAV infections respond to environmental fluctuations experienced in situ on reefs. Further, viral productivity will likely increase as ocean temperatures continue to rise, potentially impacting the foundational symbiosis underpinning coral reef ecosystems.

Viruses in natural environments can employ infection strategies along a continuum from lytic to persistent [1]; although some lyse and kill their hosts, others maintain high infection prevalence in a host population without severely damaging infected individuals (e.g., [2–5]). Conditions associated with human activity and climate change, including temperature [3, 6, 7] nutrient pollution [8], and oxygen depletion [9], can drive shifts in the infection strategies that viruses use, with implications for the productivity of these infections. Despite the growing recognition that natural systems contain prevalent viruses with varied infection modes, the drivers of productivity in coral-associated viruses have not been examined at the reef scale.

Coral reefs, climate-threatened generators of marine ecosystem services, are teeming with diverse microbial consortia, including viruses (e.g., [10, 11]). Viral abundance in corals has been associated with elevated temperatures (e.g., [12–14]) and exposure to additional stressors, including excess nutrients [12] and ultraviolet radiation [15]. Observations of diverse viruses under different conditions have inspired hypotheses about their likely roles, ranging from antagonistic agents driving disease [16–19] to beneficial contributors to coral stress tolerance [20–22]. Recently, a metagenomic comparison of viromes from conspecific healthy and bleached corals suggested that some eukaryotic viruses may directly contribute to bleaching signs, whereas certain bacteriophages may be associated with healthy colonies [23]. These patterns reveal what may be a general pattern associated with coral microbial dysbiosis, broadly defined as a deviation from the microbial consortia of healthy holobionts. However, the dynamics and impacts of specific lineages of viruses have yet to be quantified from reef environments.

The inability to track individual reef-associated viral lineages has constrained progress in characterizing viral prevalence and dynamics in coral holobionts. For coral-associated bacteria and Symbiodiniaceae (algal endosymbionts), microbial dysbiosis has frequently been associated with increases or decreases in richness and increased dispersion [24–28] using community analysis approaches. While amplicon sequencing of Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria communities have been widely applied to understand their impacts on coral colony health, viruses lack a common phylogenetically conserved gene like the 16S of bacteria, limiting our ability to characterize viral dynamics in a comparable manner. However, recent developments have enabled the high-throughput characterization of one group of viruses, Symbiodiniaceae-infecting positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses (or ‘dinoRNAVs’). Grupstra et al. [29] produced the first temporal characterization of this viral lineage, using nested degenerate primers that amplify the Symbiodiniaceae dinoRNAV major capsid protein (mcp, [30]) and translating amplicon sequence variants into unique amino acid sequences. Here, we apply this approach at the reef scale to track the spatial and temporal dynamics of a viral lineage for the first time, spanning a significant thermal stress event, to test for evidence of dysbiosis in their associated coral colonies.

We tracked dinoRNAV mcp diversity in the Symbiodiniaceae assemblages of 54 individual colonies of the thermally resistant coral holobiont, Porites lobata, from three reef zones (fringing, back and forereef) in Moorea, French Polynesia over a > 3-year period that spanned an extreme thermal stress event in March of 2019. Coral reef zones in Moorea are characterized by distinct environmental conditions [31]. For example, the shallow fringing and back reef zones are characterized by higher temperatures [32] and nutrient concentrations [33] than the deeper and further offshore forereef zone. P. lobata typically associates with Cladocopium C15 Symbiodiniaceae [34, 35], making it an ideal candidate to investigate dinoRNAV dynamics within a single Symbiodiniaceae species in a thermally-robust coral system [36]. By integrating mcp amino acid diversity into the context of colony- and reef-scale parameters, we 1) quantify colony-level infection prevalence and persistence over time, 2) identify putative triggers of viral productivity and dysbiosis based on differences in abiotic factors (i.e. thermal stress, reef zone, etc.), and 3) integrate colony health and viral infection data to generate hypotheses regarding the impacts of viral infection on coral holobionts.

Experimental design and sample processing

Fifty-four colonies of Porites lobata were tagged on the north shore of Moorea, French Polynesia, spanning nine sites that encompassed three reef zones (fringing, back and forereef; n = 6 colonies/site, n = 3 sites/reef zone, Fig. 1A, Supp. Figure 1A). Each tagged colony was sampled in August 2018 (dry season), March 2019 (wet season), August 2019 (dry), and October 2020 (dry). Samples could not be collected in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Water temperatures were measured every two hours at each site using a HOBO® temperature logger. Temperatures are presented as averages (with 95% CI) by reef type (Fig. 2A), with 1–3 loggers per reef zone represented at any particular time. Due to logistical issues, HOBO® temperature logger data are not available for October 2020; no bleaching signs were visually observed on the reef during this sampling point. Based on prior data collected from October 2015 to August 2016, the reef zones in this study had different nutrient concentrations: the fringing reefs on the north shore of Moorea had higher nutrient concentrations, whereas back reef and areas closer to the reef crest generally had lower concentrations [33]. Low nutrient conditions in forereef relative to the back and fringe reef of Moorea have also been documented in [37].

During each sampling point, photographs were taken of each colony and used to visually determine if a colony remained apparently healthy or experienced partial mortality over the course of the study (Fig. 2B). A third category (‘ambiguous’) was used to describe colonies for which health trajectory could not be determined based on the images available (Supplementary Methods). Tissue samples were collected for ‘omics analyses; for each P. lobata holobiont, ~ 3–6 small fragments (1 cm²) of skeleton/tissue were sampled across the colony surface using bone cutters, placed in a sterile Whirl-Pak® (Nasco), and then preserved in DNA/RNA shield (ZymoResearch, Irvine, California, USA). Samples in DNA/RNA shield were kept on ice until returning to shore, at which point they were vortexed for 25 min at full speed with 5 ceramic beads and 1.35 g garnet matrix (MP Biomedicals) and then frozen at − 40°C. An additional sample (~ 3 cm² fragment) was collected for symbiont density measurements from a subset of these same colonies to compare densities over time and reef zones. These samples were wrapped in foil and stored at − 40°C until further processing (see Supplementary Methods).

DNA and RNA were extracted from the coral holobiont tissue samples using enzyme digestions and a ZymoBIOMICs DNA/RNA Kit (ZymoResearch, Irvine, California, USA, following [29]). Dominant Symbiodiniaceae lineages were identified by amplifying the D1–D2 region of the 28S large subunit (LSU) nuclear ribosomal RNA gene using the primers LSU1F_illu and LSU1R_illu [38] and processed in RStudio (version 1.1.456) through the DADA2 pipeline (version 1.11.0, [39]) and LULU package ([40], Supplementary Methods). The dinoRNAV major capsid protein (mcp) gene was amplified from cDNA (generated from RNA), using a nested PCR protocol with primers from [30]. Sequencing and bioinformatic analyses were conducted following [29] using the program vAMPirus (v2.0.2; [41]). Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) were translated and aligned into unique amino acid types (‘aminotypes’) to collapse some of the diversity associated with the high mutation rate of ssRNA viruses [42–44] and address dinoRNAV diversity from a functional perspective [29].

DinoRNAV mcp aminotype diversity analyses

All dinoRNAV mcp analyses were conducted on samples that produced sequencing libraries containing at least 1,000 reads in R (version 4.1.0). Aminotype richness was calculated with phyloseq (estimate_richness function, version 1.36.0) using rarefied data. Linear models were used to assess the influence of reef type and time on aminotype richness using the equation richness ~ reef type * time with stats (lm function, version 4.1.0). The influence of Symbiodiniaceae density on richness was also assessed, using the equation richness ~ density. Assumptions of normality of the residuals were assessed visually with quantile-quantile plots and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Beta diversity analyses were conducted on rlog transformed count data [45] by calculating Bray-Curtis distances with phyloseq; significant differences in between-group distances (composition) were assessed with permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) using adonis in vegan (version 2.5.7, [46]) and a modified pairwise adonis (following methods in [27]). Within-group distances (or dispersion) were assessed with permutation tests for homogeneity in multivariate dispersion (PERMDISP) using betadisper in vegan. Beta diversity metrics were assessed according to reef type, site, time, colony identity, and colony health (excluding ambiguous gray colonies in Fig. 1B). For some comparisons, samples were categorized according to whether they were collected during ambient conditions on the reef (August 2018 and October 2020 timepoints) versus during the reef bleaching event (March and August 2019 timepoints).

A phylogenetic tree was generated to depict relationships between abundant aminotypes (those with at least 10% relative abundance in at least one sample) and related sequences. Sequences included those associated with six coral species with diverse symbionts from the Great Barrier Reef [30], sequences from Pocillopora spp. harboring two Cladocopium symbionts in French Polynesia [29], and several additional related viral sequences [42, 47–49]. MUSCLEv5 [50] was used to align sequences and Modeltest-ng [51] was used to determine the best model for evolution. A maximum likelihood phylogeny with 500 bootstrap replication steps was generated with Heterocapsa circularisquama RNA virus (HcRNAV, BAE47072.1, HcRNAV109CY, [47]) as an outgroup, using IQ-TREE2 [52]. The tree was visualized using ggtree [53]. Branches with < 50% bootstrap support were collapsed, and branches with > 70% support are marked with a black dot.

Temperature and colony health fluctuated across the reef and over time

Overall seawater temperatures (linear model; R² = 0.07, p < 0.001) and daily temperature ranges (Pairwise Wilcoxon Test, p < 0.001 for all) differed significantly among reef zones, with the fringing reef having the highest temperatures (averaging 28.5 ℃ ±1.1 and ranging from 21.5 ℃ to 31.3 ℃), and the forereef having the lowest (averaging 27.8 ℃ ± 0.9 and ranging from 23.5 ℃ to 30.0 ℃; Fig. 2A). March 2019 was the hottest sampling period in every reef zone (Supp. Table 1), with a mean temperature of 29.4 ℃ ± 1.2 compared to 27.3 ℃ ± 0.7 in August 2018 and 27.0 ℃ ± 0.5 in August 2019 (Pairwise Wilcoxon Test, p < 0.001 for all, Fig. 2A). Although this severe island-wide bleaching event was experienced by all reef organisms, bleaching signs within the stony corals were primarily observed in Acropora and Pocillopora [36, 54] and were evident from March to August 2019 [55]. Porites lobata is generally bleaching-resistant [34], and clear visual signs of bleaching were not observed in any focal colonies of this study at any sampling period.

Samples from the 54 colonies were successfully collected at every time point, except for four colonies on the fringe reef that could not be located in October 2020 (Fringe 0: POR578 & 590; Fringe 1: POR75 & 259). All focal coral colonies remained alive over the course of the > 3-year sampling period, although 50% (27/54) of colonies exhibited partial mortality (blue colonies in Fig. 1B). Two colonies on the forereef (POR2 and 5) experienced near complete mortality by October 2020, with only small fragments of live tissue remaining and considerable overgrowth of the colony by macroalgae. Colony health varied with reef type (χ² = 10.51, p < 0.01) and site (χ² = 18.37, p = 0.01). More forereef corals (78%, 14/18) experienced partial mortality than fringe reef corals (28%, 5/18, χ² = 10.49, p < 0.01, blue colonies in Fig. 1B).

Porites lobata-Cladocopium C15 holobionts contain distinctive dinoRNAV mcp aminotypes

In total, 212 samples were collected for ‘omics analyses from the 54 focal colonies over the course of the study. Amplicon sequencing of the Symbiodiniaceae LSU gene indicated that all colonies were dominated by Cladocopium C15; Gerakladium ASVs were detected in 11% (6/54) of colonies and comprised less than 1% of the total Symbiodiniaceae community in each of these colonies (Supp. Figure 2, see Supplementary Results for additional details).

Amplicon sequencing of the dinoRNAV mcp resulted in 63,378,214 raw reads; 21,165,247 paired reads remained after merging and filtering. Denoising and translation produced 778 unique aminotypes. After exclusion of samples with fewer than 1,000 reads, read depth ranged from 1,584 to 361,088 per sample.

Thirteen percent (101/778) of the aminotypes resolved were present in at least 10% relative abundance in at least one sample and were used to calculate and visualize phylogenetic relationships among aminotypes both in this study and from other closely related viruses (Fig. 3). The majority of the aminotypes from this study clustered into three groups; two of these groups formed clades that were distinct from all other sequences in the tree (labeled circles 1 and 3 in Fig. 3). The middle group (labeled circle 2 in Fig. 3) clustered near aminotypes from coral colonies in the Great Barrier Reef[30] and from Moorean Pocillopora colonies [29]. Aminotypes from each of these groups were found in all reef habitats (Reef Zone columns 1–3 in Fig. 3). Two aminotypes clustered with dinoRNAV sequences from Pocillopora [29], the Barns Ness breadcrumb sponge weivirus-like virus[49] and Beihai sobemo-like virus [42], and dinoRNAV sequences isolated from Symbiodiniaceae in culture [20]. HcRNAV outgroup sequences[47, 48] clustered together in their own clade (Fig. 3).

When percent sequence similarity among all 778 aminotypes was compared, aminotypes also clustered into at least three groups, with the largest group encompassing 48% (343/778) of aminotypes (Supp. Figure 4). Clustered groups of aminotypes were generally characterized by > 80% sequence similarity, and sequence similarity between groups generally ranged from 40–80% (Supp. Figure 4). Some aminotypes were highly abundant. For example, forty-three aminotypes were shared among at least 50% of samples, and four aminotypes (aminotype 626, 650, 73, and 8) were shared between at least 75% of samples. Among these, aminotype 8 was the most common (found in 89% of samples, darkest gray bar in Fig. 3, Fig. 4).

Porites lobata-Cladocopium C15 holobionts exhibit high dinoRNAV prevalence

The dinoRNAV mcp gene was detected in 50 of 54 colonies (93%). Four colonies were excluded from sequencing and analyses due to poor RNA quality (indicated by light gray dots in Fig. 1B), resulting in 196 sequenced samples. Samples with > 1000 filtered dinoRNAV mcp reads (colored bars in Fig. 4) were considered positive dinoRNAV detections, as were successful PCR amplifications of the mcp in-house (black triangles in Fig. 4). Out of the 50 coral colonies from which the dinoRNAV mcp was sequenced, dinoRNAV sequences were detected in 91% (179/196) of the samples, and high-quality sequence reads were obtained from 86% (168/196, Fig. 4). Further, 80% (40/50) of colonies exhibited dinoRNAV infection at all timepoints sampled (Fig. 4). The remaining 20% (10/50) of colonies exhibited dinoRNAV infection at some time points, but not all (3/14 colonies on the forereef, 5/18 on the backreef, and 2/18 on the fringing reef; Fig. 4). These non-detection samples were not associated with any particular timepoint. To confirm that quality of cDNA was not the cause of potential false negatives, successful amplification of S-adenosyl methionine synthetase, a gene with stable expression in Symbiodiniaceae [56], was used as a positive control. This control gene was successfully amplified in-house from cDNA of all non-detection samples.

DinoRNAV compositions were distinct by colony (PERMANOVA with Bray-Curtis; F = 3.46, R² = 0.57, p = 0.001) with most being dominated by a single aminotype. Seventy-five percent of samples (126/168 colored bars, Fig. 4) had one dominant aminotype (> 50% relative abundance, such as aminotype 273 across colony POR68 or aminotype 471 across colony POR318, Fig. 4). Most aminotypes were found in multiple colonies; only 2.2% (17/778) of aminotypes were unique to only one sample.

Reef zone influenced dinoRNAV mcp aminotype richness and composition

Seventy percent of aminotypes were shared across the three reef zones (Fig. 1C), whereas fewer than 4% of aminotypes were unique to one reef zone (Fig. 1D). Aminotypes from all three predominant clades in Fig. 3 were found in all reef habitats (Reef zone columns 1–3 in Fig. 3).

Aminotype richness differed by reef zone (ANOVA, F = 5.93, p = 0.003) and was highest in the fringing reef (fringe: 146 ± 62.4; back: 123 ± 67.7; fore: 107 ± 40.6; fringe relative to fore: Pairwise Wilcoxon Test, p = 0.06, Fig. 1E). Aminotype composition (i.e., between group distance) also varied by reef zone (PERMANOVA with Bray-Curtis; F = 1.95, R² = 0.02 p = 0.02, Fig. 5A); pairwise tests showed that fringe reef aminotypes differed significantly from the back reef (R² = 0.02, p = 0.05), and the forereef trended towards differing with the fringe and the back in composition as well (R² = 0.02, p = 0.09 for both comparisons, Fig. 5A). When aminotype composition of samples in each reef type was analyzed separately, site significantly influenced composition in the fringe (PERMANOVA with Bray-Curtis; F = 1.89, R² = 0.61, p = 0.04) and back (F = 2.22, R² = 0.07, p = 0.02) reefs, but not in the forereef (F = 0.76, R² = 0.03, p = 0.59). Dispersion (i.e., within group distance) did not vary by reef type (PERMDISP with Bray-Curtis, F = 1.63, p = 0.22). Aminotype richness did not correlate with Symbiodiniaceae density (linear model; F = 0.04, R² = 0.001, p = 0.85, Supp. Figure 5).

Colonies that exhibited partial mortality differed in dinoRNAV mcp aminotype composition and dispersion during the reef-wide bleaching event

Dispersion was significantly higher during reef bleaching timepoints compared to ambient temperature timepoints (PERMDISP with Bray-Curtis, F = 5.17, p = 0.025, March and August 2019 grouped together versus August 2018 and October 2020 grouped together, Fig. 5C). When colonies that exhibited partial mortality versus healthy colonies were analyzed separately, the pattern of elevated dispersion during reef bleaching conditions was strongest (and trended towards significance) in colonies with partial mortality (PERMDISP with Bray-Curtis, F = 3.50, p = 0.068 vs healthy colonies: F = 2.0, p = 0.17, Fig. 6B). Overall, colony health trajectory significantly correlated with composition of dinoRNAV aminotypes (PERMANOVA with Bray-Curtis; F = 1.98, R² = 0.013, p = 0.03, orange vs blue panels in Fig. 6A), but composition did not vary significantly between ambient and reef bleaching timepoints (PERMANOVA with Bray-Curtis, F = 0.75, R² = 0.005, p = 0.75, Fig. 6A). There was not an interaction between health state and ambient versus bleaching timepoints (F = 0.51, R² = 0.01, p = 0.99, Fig. 6A). With all reef types considered together, time alone did not significantly influence aminotype composition (PERMANOVA with Bray-Curtis, R² = 0.01, p = 1, Fig. 5B), but did affect aminotype dispersion (Fig. 5C). Dispersion was highest during the bleaching event in March 2019 (Fig. 5C) and trended towards significant differences (PERMDISP with Bray-Curtis, F = 2.43, p = 0.07).

Most shallow water coral holobionts live in conditions that are close to the upper limit of their thermal tolerance [57, 58]. As ocean temperatures intermittently surpass these thresholds, it is critical to understand the infection dynamics of dinoRNAVs and other viruses that potentially impact coral-Symbiodiniaceae interactions. Similarly, densely populated nearshore areas (e.g., fringing reefs) are typically more nutrient-rich than offshore (e.g., forereef) habitats, which can lead to increased abundances of microorganisms, including viruses, in nearshore habitats [59]. Although we have abundant evidence from omics-based approaches that corals harbor a diverse virosphere [10, 13, 60–63], the distribution of these viruses in space and time as well as their infection dynamics are not well resolved. Here, we characterized the diversity and infection prevalence of dinoRNAVs in dominant reef-building Porites lobata holobionts across multiple years and reef environments. Over 90% of the sampled holobionts had detectable dinoRNAV infections, whose composition and diversity differed among reef zones, indicating that environmental conditions were deterministic in viral-host dynamics. DinoRNAV aminotype variability increased during the reef-wide thermal stress event, suggesting an increase in viral productivity, and this pattern was strongest in the colonies that exhibited partial mortality during the study. Such lineage-specific inferences advance coral reef virology by identifying host-virus interactions that may drive ecosystem impacts.

DinoRNAV diversity is highest in the fringing reef and aminotype composition varies by reef zone

Porites lobata holobionts are found in the fringe, back and forereef zones of Moorea and maintain a highly specific association with Cladocopium C15 Symbiodiniaceae in all zones (Supp. Figure 2). We leveraged this consistent host-symbiont system to test multi-year dinoRNAV dynamics across different environmental conditions. The composition of viral aminotypes was influenced by reef zone; within the back and fringe reef, there was spatial variation at the site level as well (e.g., aminotype 8 in Back 1 vs Back 2 in Fig. 4). The forereef, which had the lowest richness and no spatial (site) variation, had more homogenous environmental conditions ([33], Supp. Figure 1B); statistical power was also more limited for this reef zone due to poor RNA quality in some samples (Fig. 4 top row). In contrast, the fringe and back reef had more variable conditions, resulting in finer-scale variation in viral aminotype assemblages. The differences in viral diversity and composition according to reef zone suggest that environmental conditions across a reefscape exerts distinctive selective pressures [64, 65] and dinoRNAVs may vary in their productivity across a reef.

High intra-colony dinoRNAV richness in the fringing reef holobionts (Fig. 1E) may be indicative of increased viral productivity associated with one or more elevated abiotic conditions in this environment. The fringing reef has the highest and most variable temperatures (Fig. 2, Supp. Figure 1B), and high temperature was previously attributed to inducing shifts to more productive modes of viral infection [29, 66]. The fringing reefs on the north shore of Moorea also have the highest nutrient concentrations due to coastal runoff [33], and therefore higher abundances of fleshy macroalgae [67]. This could contribute to higher microbial respiration, which has been attributed to viral productivity in other systems [68]. Nutrients may also increase Symbiodiniaceae growth rates [69–71] triggering more productive dinoRNAV infections. However, we did not document elevated Symbiodinaceae densities in the fringing reef colonies (Supp. Figure 3). Elevated levels of one or more of these conditions on the fringing reef, a result of both the physical parameters of the reef and proximity to human activity, appear conducive to viral infections.

Dinoflagellate-infecting RNA viruses are diverse, common, and persistent in Porites lobata-Cladocopium C15 holobionts

Porites lobata are stress-resistant holobionts that will likely become an even more dominant player on Indo-Pacific reefs as climate change drives losses in more susceptible taxa [72]. DinoRNAV infection prevalence is high within P. lobata-Cladocopium C15 holobionts in Moorea; dinoRNAV mcp aminotypes were detected from almost every colony sampled, and at all timepoints sampled. Since the only colonies from which dinoRNAVs were not detected were four colonies with poor RNA quality, the infection prevalence of dinoRNAVs at the colony level may even exceed the 93% (50/54) reported here. Symbiodiniaceae are vertically transmitted in Porites eggs, and this mode of transmission may contribute to high colony-level infection prevalence. The dinoRNAV detections in this study are most parsimoniously interpreted as representative of active infections, rather than endogenized viral elements (EVEs) in the Symbiodiniaceae genome. This is because 1) a genome-wide exploration of dinoRNAVs detected zero mcp EVEs in a Cladocopium C15 genome, and 2) mcp genes were successfully amplified from unfractionated coral cDNA but were not amplifiable from DNA purified from the same samples in parallel (n = 8, data not shown). The 778 detected aminotypes encompass at least three distinct groups of dinoRNAVs, based on phylogenetic and sequence similarity (Fig. 3, Supp. Figure 4). These groups are potentially indicative of ‘quasispecies’, a term often used to describe RNA viral diversity since RNA polymerase (RdRp) has high error rates during replication [73–77]. Deciphering the dynamics of these active viral infections is integral to understanding the persistence of robust Porites holobionts in climate-stressed reefs.

DinoRNAVs are more productive during thermal stress and in colonies with declining health

Temporal patterns in aminotype diversity metrics revealed a signature of the reef bleaching event in P. lobata-Cladocopium C15 holobionts. When timepoints were grouped according to their proximity to the reef bleaching event (timepoints of ambient temperature before and after 2019 versus the 2019 timepoints that fell during the bleaching event), dispersion of aminotypes was significantly higher during the reef bleaching timepoints. This pattern was primarily driven by colonies exhibiting partial mortality (Fig. 6B), suggesting a connection between holobiont health, thermal stress, and dinoRNAV productivity. Heat may trigger increased viral productivity (as evident in non-coral systems [66, 78]), driving declines in Symbiodiniaceae health and indirectly impacting coral colony health. Alternatively, as Symbiodiniaceae and/or coral colonies become physiologically stressed [79], viral productivity may increase as a secondary infection that results in additional physiological stress. In addition to examining host immune system responses (of both coral and Symbiodiniaceae), quantitative approaches such as real-time PCR and detection of dinoRNAVs though Fluorescence in situ Hybridization [80] may be helpful in determining viral load and resolving functional roles of dinoRNAV infections at the resolution of the Symbiodiniaceae population, since coral holobionts harbor millions of Symbiodiniaceae cells per square centimeter of coral tissue [81]. Overall, our results show that in a bleaching-resistant coral holobiont system, dinoRNAVs respond to in situ heat stress and have potentially nuanced, non-lethal health impacts on coral colonies.

Direct impacts of higher viral productivity on Symbiodiniaceae -- the hosts of dinoRNAVs -- may differ from the net impact of this viral lineage on the coral holobiont [1], particularly since Symbiodiniaceae and coral can interact on a continuum from parasitism to mutualism [83, 84]. For example, Symbiodiniaceae can become parasitic under elevated nutrient conditions, sequestering nutrients from the coral host [71]; if dinoRNAV infections then cause Symbiodiniaceae population declines, the coral may ultimately benefit in this circumstance. The interplay of this tripartite association will likely shift as conditions on coral reefs continue to rapidly change.

Defining the functional roles of viruses that infect Symbiodiniaceae

The role of viruses as pathogens has been emphasized in plant virology, especially in agriculturally relevant crops [3, 82]. Similarly, the role of viral lysis in coral bleaching and disease [14, 29, 61, 63] has been a primary investigative focus in economically and ecologically valuable coral reef environments. However, there is increasing recognition that plant viruses in natural systems can spread widely without causing severe damage to their hosts [2, 3, 79, 82], and can even increase plant fitness in some circumstances [4]. Especially in systems like Porites lobata-Cladocopium C15 holobionts that are long-lived and do not frequently bleach, it is also important to consider the diversity of potential outcomes in a coral-dinoflagellate-virus symbiosis [1].

There may be contexts in which Symbiodiniaceae viruses can benefit their algal hosts or the coral holobiont at large [85, 86]. In the plant holobiont, Dichanthelium lanuginosum, thermal tolerance is elevated when the fungal partners of a grass are infected with a virus that alters its gene expression [87]. Viral genes encoding for photosynthetic proteins have been documented in corals and similarly have been thought to compensate for photosynthetic damage to Symbiodiniaceae during heat stress [10, 20]. Selective infection and lysis of certain taxa can also modulate a microbial symbiont community in ways that benefit the holobiont, such as has been found with bacteriophage [88–91]. Coral holobionts can sometimes harbor multiple Symbiodiniaceae taxa, and these taxa may have competitive interactions [24, 25, 92, 93]; Symbiodiniaceae viruses could hypothetically alter the outcomes of those interactions if infections are host-specific. Finally, elevated Symbiodiniaceae densities can be detrimental to coral hosts (discussed in [71, 94, 95]), and symbiont viruses could help maintain symbiont populations. Deciphering these possible roles for Symbiodiniaceae-infecting viruses will require further lineage-specific investigations of infection prevalence within individual host cells, and quantification of the physiological impacts these infections have on hosts under different environmental contexts.

By quantifying dinoRNAV prevalence in individual colonies across years in a bleaching-resistant coral holobiont, this study shows that dinoRNAVs are a persistent component of a multi-partite symbiosis. Environmental conditions throughout the reef shaped the composition of viral mcp aminotypes, as evidenced by compositional differences according to reef type and site. Patterns in viral diversity (dispersion and richness of aminotypes) suggest that temperature can increase dinoRNAV productivity with potential connections to host and holobiont health. Infection prevalence and fitness impacts at the cellular level in Symbiodiniaceae constitute an important next step to deciphering the functional roles of dinoRNAVs. Taken together, our findings provide the first characterization of coral-holobiont viruses at the reef scale and demonstrate that infection patterns of dinoRNAVs appear to be driven, at least in part, by environmental fluctuations that will intensify under global climate change.

Competing Interests statement:

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

DATA AVAILABILITY

All mcp gene amplicon libraries and Symbiodiniaceae LSU gene amplicon libraries are available upon request and are currently being deposited to the Sequence Read Archive under accession TBD.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work represents a contribution of the Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) LTER Site (NSF OCE 16– 37396). The research was completed under permits issued by the Territorial Government of French Polynesia (Délégation à la Recherche) and the Haut-Commissariat de la République en Polynésie Francaise (DTRT) (Protocole d’Accueil 2013–2019), and we thank the Délégation à la Recherche and DTRT for their continued support. This work was supported by NSF Awards: OCE-1933165 to ART, OCE-1635913 to RVT and ART, and OCE-1635798 to AMSC. Start-up funds from Rice University, a NSF CAREER Award (OCE-2145472) and an Early-Career Research Fellowship (#2000009651) from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences to AMSC also contributed to this work. Additional funding was provided by an ASM Goldschmidt award to LHK, Lewis and Clark Grant for Exploration to LHK and CGG, and Wagoner Foreign Study awards to LHK and CGG. Thank you to Sara Emami and Natalie Yee for assistance processing field images. The authors would also like to acknowledge Mark Dasenko for his timely assistance with sequencing decisions. Thank you to everyone involved in field sampling.

Correa AMS, Howard-Varona C, Coy SR, Buchan A, Sullivan MB, Weitz JS (2021) Revisiting the rules of life for viruses of microorganisms. Nat Rev Microbiol 19:501–513
Safari M, Roossinck MJ (2018) Coevolution of a persistent plant virus and its pepper hosts. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 31:766–776
Honjo MN, Emura N, Kawagoe T, Sugisaka J, Kamitani M, Nagano AJ et al (2020) Seasonality of interactions between a plant virus and its host during persistent infection in a natural environment. ISME J 14:506–518
Roossinck MJ (2011) The good viruses: Viral mutualistic symbioses. Nat Rev Microbiol 9:99–108
Roossinck MJ (2014) Metagenomics of plant and fungal viruses reveals an abundance of persistent: Lifestyles.Frontiers in Microbiology. ; 5
Vandieken V, Sabelhaus L, Engelhardt T (2017) Virus dynamics are influenced by season, tides and advective transport in intertidal, permeable sediments.Frontiers in Microbiology; 8
Gustavsen JA, Suttle CA (2021) Role of Phylogenetic Structure in the Dynamics of Coastal Viral Assemblages. Appl Environ Microbiol 87:1–20
Danovaro R, Armeni M, Corinaldesi C, Mei ML (2003) Viruses and marine pollution. Mar Pollut Bull 46:301–304
Rastelli E, Corinaldesi C, Petani B, Dell’Anno A, Ciglenečki I, Danovaro R (2016) Enhanced viral activity and dark CO2 fixation rates under oxygen depletion: the case study of the marine Lake Rogoznica. Environ Microbiol 18:4511–4522
Cárdenas A, Ye J, Ziegler M, Payet JP, McMinds R, Vega Thurber R et al (2020) Coral-Associated Viral Assemblages From the Central Red Sea Align With Host Species and Contribute to Holobiont Genetic Diversity.Frontiers in Microbiology; 11
Correa AMS, Ainsworth TD, Rosales SM, Thurber AR, Butler CR, Vega Thurber RL (2016) Viral Outbreak in Corals Associated with an In Situ Bleaching Event: Atypical Herpes-Like Viruses and a New Megavirus Infecting Symbiodinium. Front Microbiol 7:127
Vega Thurber RL, Barott KL, Hall D, Liu H, Rodriguez-Mueller B, Desnues C et al (2008) Metagenomic analysis indicates that stressors induce production of herpes-like viruses in the coral Porites compressa.
Correa AMS, Welsh RM, Vega Thurber RL (2013) Unique nucleocytoplasmic dsDNA and + ssRNA viruses are associated with the dinoflagellate endosymbionts of corals. ISME J 7:13–27
Thurber RV, Payet JP, Thurber AR, Correa AMS (2017) Virus-host interactions and their roles in coral reef health and disease. Nat Rev Microbiol 15:205–216
Lawrence SA, Floge SA, Davy JE, Davy SK, Wilson WH (2017) Exploratory analysis of Symbiodinium transcriptomes reveals potential latent infection by large dsDNA viruses. Environ Microbiol 19:3909–3919
Pollock FJ, Wood-Charlson M, van Oppen E, Bourne MJH, Willis DG, Weynberg BL (2014) Abundance and morphology of virus-like particles associated with the coral Acropora hyacinthus differ between healthy and white syndrome-infected states. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 510:39–43
Soffer N, Brandt ME, Correa AMS, Smith TB, Thurber RV (2014) Potential role of viruses in white plague coral disease. ISME J 8:271–283
Weynberg KD, Voolstra CR, Neave MJ, Buerger P, van Oppen MJH (2015) From cholera to corals: Viruses as drivers of virulence in a major coral bacterial pathogen. Sci Rep 5:1–9
Sweet M, Bythell J (2017) The role of viruses in coral health and disease. J Invertebr Pathol 147:136–144
Levin RA, Voolstra CR, Weynberg KD, van Oppen MJH (2016) Evidence for a role of viruses in the thermal sensitivity of coral photosymbionts. ISME J 11:808–812
Voolstra CR, Suggett DJ, Peixoto RS, Parkinson JE, Quigley KM, Silveira CB et al (2021) Extending the natural adaptive capacity of coral holobionts. Nat Reviews Earth Environ 2:747–762
van Oppen’" ML, Leong’ J-A, Gates RD (2009) Coral-virus interactions: A double-edged sword? 47:1–8
Messyasz A, Rosales SM, Mueller RS, Sawyer T, Correa AMS, Thurber AR et al (2020) Coral Bleaching Phenotypes Associated With Differential Abundances of Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses.Front Mar Sci; 7
Howe-Kerr LI, Bachelot B, Wright RM, Kenkel CD, Bay LK, Correa AMS (2020) Symbiont community diversity is more variable in corals that respond poorly to stress. Glob Change Biol 26:2220–2234
Quigley KM, Willis BL, Bay LK (2016) Maternal effects and Symbiodinium community composition drive differential patterns in juvenile survival in the coral Acropora tenuis. Royal Soc Open Sci 3:160471
Zaneveld JR, Burkepile DE, Shantz AA, Pritchard CE, McMinds R, Payet JP et al (2016) Overfishing and nutrient pollution interact with temperature to disrupt coral reefs down to microbial scales. Nat Commun 7:11833
Maher RL, Rice MM, McMinds R, Burkepile DE, Vega Thurber R (2019) Multiple stressors interact primarily through antagonism to drive changes in the coral microbiome. Sci Rep 9:1–12
Maher RL, Schmeltzer ER, Meiling S, McMinds R, Ezzat L, Shantz AA et al (2020) Coral Microbiomes Demonstrate Flexibility and Resilience Through a Reduction in Community Diversity Following a Thermal Stress Event.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution; 8
Grupstra CGB, Howe-Kerr LI, Veglia AJ, Bryant RL, Coy SR, Blackwelder PL et al (2022) Thermal stress triggers productive viral infection of a key coral reef symbiont. ISME J 16:1430–1441
Montalvo-Proaño J, Buerger P, Weynberg KD, van Oppen MJ (2017) A PCR-based assay targeting the major capsid protein gene of a dinorna-like ssRNA virus that infects coral photosymbionts.Frontiers in Microbiology; 8
Adjerond M (1997) Factors influencing spatial patterns on coral reefs around Moorea, French Polynesia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 159:105–119
Donovan MK, Adam TC, Shantz AA, Speare KE, Munsterman KS, Rice MM et al (2020) Nitrogen pollution interacts with heat stress to increase coral bleaching across the seascape. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117:5351–5357
Adam TC, Burkepile DE, Holbrook SJ, Carpenter RC, Claudet J, Loiseau C et al (2021) Landscape-scale patterns of nutrient enrichment in a coral reef ecosystem: implications for coral to algae phase shifts.Ecological Applications; 31
Putnam HM, Stat M, Pochon X, Gates RD (2012) Endosymbiotic flexibility associates with environmental sensitivity in scleractinian corals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences ; 279: 4352–4361
Barshis DJ, Birkeland C, Toonen RJ, Gates RD, Stillman JH (2018) High-frequency temperature variability mirrors fixed differences in thermal limits of the massive coral Porites lobata.Journal of Experimental Biology; 221
Pérez-Rosales G, Rouzé H, Torda G, Bongaerts P, Pichon M, Parravicini V et al (2021) Mesophotic coral communities escape thermal coral bleaching in French Polynesia.Royal Society Open Science; 8
Payet JP, McMinds R, Burkepile DE, Vega Thurber RL (2014) Spatial and short-term temporal sampling reveals high viral abundance and lytic activity in coral reef waters of the South Pacific Ocean.Frontiers in Microbiology; 5
Pochon X, Wecker P, Stat M, Berteaux-Lecellier V, Lecellier G (2019) Towards an in-depth characterization of Symbiodiniaceae in tropical giant clams via metabarcoding of pooled multi-gene amplicons. PeerJ ; 2019
Callahan BJ, McMurdie PJ, Rosen MJ, Han AW, Johnson AJA, Holmes SP (2016) DADA2: High-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data. Nat Methods 13:581–583
Frøslev TG, Kjøller R, Bruun HH, Ejrnæs R, Brunbjerg AK, Pietroni C et al (2017) Algorithm for post-clustering curation of DNA amplicon data yields reliable biodiversity estimates. Nature Communications 2017 8:1 ; 8: 1–11
Veglia A, Vicéns RER, Grupstra C, Howe-Kerr L, Correa A (2021) vAMPirus: An automated, comprehensive virus amplicon sequencing analysis program.
Shi M, Lin XD, Tian JH, Chen LJ, Chen X, Li CX et al (2016) Redefining the invertebrate RNA virosphere. Nature 2016 540:7634 ; 540: 539–543
Domingo E, Sheldon J, Perales C (2012) Viral Quasispecies Evolution. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 76:159–216
Sanjuán R, Domingo-Calap P (2016) Mechanisms of viral mutation. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, vol 73. Birkhauser Verlag AG, pp 4433–4448
Love MI, Huber W, Anders S (2014) Moderated estimation of fold change and dispersion for RNA-seq data with DESeq2.Genome Biology; 15
Oksanen J, Blanchet F, Friendly M, Kindt R, Legendre P, McGlinn D et al (2020) vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package
Nagasaki K, Shirai Y, Takao Y, Mizumoto H, Nishida K, Tomaru Y (2005) Comparison of genome sequences of single-stranded RNA viruses infecting the bivalve-killing dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:8888–8894
Nakayama N, Fujimoto A, Kawami H, Tomaru Y, Hata N, Nagasaki K (2013) High interaction variability of the bivalve-killing dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama strains and their single-stranded RNA virus HcRNAV isolates. Microbes and Environments 28:112–119
Waldron FM, Stone GN, Obbard DJ (2018) Metagenomic sequencing suggests a diversity of RNA interference-like responses to viruses across multicellular eukaryotes. PLoS Genet 14:e1007533
Edgar RC (2004) MUSCLE: Multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput. Nucleic Acids Res 32:1792–1797
Darriba Di, Posada D, Kozlov AM, Stamatakis A, Morel B, Flouri T (2020) ModelTest-NG: A New and Scalable Tool for the Selection of DNA and Protein Evolutionary Models. Mol Biol Evol 37:291–294
Minh BQ, Schmidt HA, Chernomor O, Schrempf D, Woodhams MD, von Haeseler A et al (2020) IQ-TREE 2: New Models and Efficient Methods for Phylogenetic Inference in the Genomic Era. Mol Biol Evol 37:1530–1534
Yu G (2020) Using ggtree to Visualize Data on Tree-Like Structures.Current Protocols in Bioinformatics; 69
Burgess SC, Johnston EC, Wyatt ASJ, Leichter JJ, Edmunds PJ (2021) Response diversity in corals: hidden differences in bleaching mortality among cryptic Pocillopora species.Ecology; 102
Speare KE, Adam TC, Winslow EM, Lenihan HS, Burkepile DE (2021) Size-dependent mortality of corals during marine heatwave erodes recovery capacity of a coral reef. Glob Change Biol 28:1342–1358
Rosic NN, Pernice M, Rodriguez-Lanetty M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2011) Validation of Housekeeping Genes for Gene Expression Studies in Symbiodinium Exposed to Thermal and Light Stress. Mar Biotechnol 13:355–365
Frieler K, Meinshausen M, Golly A, Mengel M, Lebek K, Donner SD et al (2013) Limiting global warming to 2C is unlikely to save most coral reefs. Nat Clim Change 3:165–170
Baker AC, Glynn PW, Riegl B (2008) Climate change and coral reef bleaching: An ecological assessment of long-term impacts, recovery trends and future outlook. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 80:435–471
Dinsdale EA, Pantos O, Smriga S, Edwards RA, Angly F, Wegley L et al (2008) Microbial ecology of four coral atolls in the Northern Line Islands.PLoS ONE; 3
Marhaver KL, Edwards RA, Rohwer F (2008) Viral communities associated with healthy and bleaching corals. Environ Microbiol 10:2277–2286
Thurber RV, Willner-Hall D, Rodriguez-Mueller B, Desnues C, Edwards RA, Angly F et al (2009) Metagenomic analysis of stressed coral holobionts. Environ Microbiol 11:2148–2163
Thurber RLV, Correa AMS (2011) Viruses of reef-building scleractinian corals. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 408:102–113
Correa AMS, Ainsworth TD, Rosales SM, Thurber AR, Butler CR, Vega Thurber RL (2016) Viral Outbreak in Corals Associated with an In Situ Bleaching Event: Atypical Herpes-Like Viruses and a New Megavirus Infecting Symbiodinium. Front Microbiol 7:127
Illingworth CJR (2015) Fitness inference from short-read data: Within-host evolution of a reassortant H5N1 influenza virus. Mol Biol Evol 32:3012–3026
Zhao L, Illingworth CJR (2019) Measurements of intrahost viral diversity require an unbiased diversity metric.Virus Evolution; 5
Cevallos RC, Sarnow P (2010) Temperature Protects Insect Cells from Infection by Cricket Paralysis Virus. J Virol 84:1652–1655
D’Angelo C, Wiedenmann J (2014) Impacts of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs: New perspectives and implications for coastal management and reef survival. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 7:82–93
Hewson I, Aquino CA, Derito CM (2020) Virome variation during sea starwasting disease progression in pisaster ochraceus (Asteroidea, echinodermata).Viruses; 12
Marangoni LF, de B, Ferrier-Pagès C, Rottier C, Bianchini A, Grover R (2020) Unravelling the different causes of nitrate and ammonium effects on coral bleaching. Sci Rep 10:11975
Fox MD, Nelson CE, Oliver TA, Quinlan ZA, Remple K, Glanz J et al (2021) Differential resistance and acclimation of two coral species to chronic nutrient enrichment reflect life-history traits. Funct Ecol 35:1081–1093
Morris LA, Voolstra CR, Quigley KM, Bourne DG, Bay LK (2019) Nutrient Availability and Metabolism Affect the Stability of Coral–Symbiodiniaceae Symbioses. Trends in Microbiology, vol 27. Elsevier Ltd., pp 678–689
Carpenter KE, Abrar M, Aeby G, Aronson RB, Banks S, Bruckner A et al (2008) One-third of reef-building corals face elevated extinction risk from climate change and local impacts. Sci (1979) 321:560–563
Domingo E, Escarmís C, Sevilla N, Moya A, Elena SF, Quer J et al (1996) Basic concepts in RNA virus evolution. FASEB J 10:859–864
Drake JW, Holland JJ (1999) Mutation rates among RNA viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ; 96: 13910–13913
Vignuzzi M, Stone JK, Arnold JJ, Cameron CE, Andino R (2005) Quasispecies diversity determines pathogenesis through cooperative interactions in a viral population. Nature 2005 439:7074 ; 439: 344–348
Kinoti WM, Constable FE, Nancarrow N, Plummer KM, Rodoni B (2017) Analysis of intra-host genetic diversity of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) using amplicon next generation sequencing.PLoS ONE; 12
Vlok M, Lang AS, Suttle CA (2019) Application of a sequence-based taxonomic classification method to uncultured and unclassified marine single-stranded RNA viruses in the order Picornavirales.Virus Evolution; 5
Seifert M, van Nies P, Papini FS, Arnold JJ, Poranen MM, Cameron CE et al (2021) Temperature controlled high-throughput magnetic tweezers show striking difference in activation energies of replicating viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Nucleic Acids Res 48:5591–5602
Knowles B, Bonachela JA, Behrenfeld MJ, Bondoc KG, Cael BB, Carlson CA et al (2020) Temperate infection in a virus–host system previously known for virulent dynamics.Nature Communications; 11
Vyboh K, Ajamian L, Mouland AJ (2012) Detection of viral RNA by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).Journal of Visualized Experiments
Drew EA (1972) The biology and physiology of alga-invertebrate symbioses.Mar. Biol. EcoL.
Roossinck MJ (2015) Plants, viruses and the environment: Ecology and mutualism. Virology 479–480:271–277
Stat M, Morris E, Gates RD, Karl DM (2008) Functional diversity in coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis.
LaJeunesse TC, Smith RT, Finney J, Oxenford H (2009) Outbreak and persistence of opportunistic symbiotic dinoflagellates during the 2005 Caribbean mass coral “bleaching” event. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences ; 276: 4139–4148
Moran NA, Degnan PH, Santos SR, Dunbar HE, Ochman H (2005) The players in a mutualistic symbiosis: Insects, bacteria, viruses, and virulence genes.
Jagdale SS, Joshi RS (2018) Enemies with benefits: mutualistic interactions of viruses with lower eukaryotes. Archives of Virology. Springer-Verlag Wien., 163: 821–830
Márquez LM, Redman RS, Rodriguez RJ, Roossinck MJ (2007) A virus in a fungus in a plant: Three-way symbiosis required for thermal tolerance. Sci (1979) 315:513–515
Barr JJ, Auro R, Furlan M, Whiteson KL, Erb ML, Pogliano J et al (2013) Bacteriophage adhering to mucus provide a non-host-derived immunity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110:10771–10776
Peixoto RS, Rosado PM, Leite DC, de Rosado A, Bourne AS (2017) DG. Beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMC): Proposed mechanisms for coral health and resilience. Frontiers in Microbiology. Frontiers Media S.A., 8
Jacquemot L, Bettarel Y, Monjol J, Corre E, Halary S, Desnues C et al (2018) Therapeutic potential of a new jumbo phage that infects Vibrio coralliilyticus, a widespread coral pathogen.Frontiers in Microbiology; 9
Cohen Y, Joseph Pollock F, Rosenberg E, Bourne DG (2013) Phage therapy treatment of the coral pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. Microbiologyopen 2:64–74
McIlroy SE, Wong JCY, Baker DM (2020) Competitive traits of coral symbionts may alter the structure and function of the microbiome. ISME J 14:2424–2432
Abbott E, Dixon G, Matz M (2021) Shuffling between Cladocopium and Durusdinium extensively modifies the physiology of each symbiont without stressing the coral host.Molecular Ecology
Cunning R, Baker AC (2013) Excess algal symbionts increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching. Nat Clim Change 3:259–262
Kenkel CD, Bay LK (2018) Exploring mechanisms that affect coral cooperation: symbiont transmission mode, cell density and community composition. PeerJ 6:e6047

(Not answered)

HoweKerretalPORdinoRNAVSupplementaryMaterial7.21.22.docx

Download PDF

Journal Publication

published 02 Apr, 2023

Read the published version in ISME Communications →

Version 1

posted

You are reading this latest preprint version

Viruses of a key coral symbiont exhibit temperature-driven productivity across a reefscape

Status:

Journal Publication

Version 1

Abstract

Figures

Introduction

Methods

Experimental design and sample processing

Results

Temperature and colony health fluctuated across the reef and over time

Discussion

DinoRNAV diversity is highest in the fringing reef and aminotype composition varies by reef zone

DinoRNAVs are more productive during thermal stress and in colonies with declining health

Defining the functional roles of viruses that infect Symbiodiniaceae

Conclusions

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

Supplementary Files

Status:

Journal Publication

Version 1