Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026
10:39
Multimodal Optical Microscopy Methods Reveal Polyp Tissue Morphology and Structure in Caribbean Reef Building Corals
Published on: September 5, 2014
Viral communities associated with healthy and bleaching corals
Kristen L Marhaver1, Robert A Edwards, Forest Rohwer
1Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA. kmarhaver@ucsd.edu
Environmental Microbiology
|May 16, 2008
Summary
Coral viruses, including herpes-like and cyanophages, infect all holobiont members. These viruses may play a key role in coral health and disease, impacting coral reef ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Virology
- Ecology
Background:
- The coral holobiont comprises coral animals, symbiotic algae, protists, fungi, Bacteria, and Archaea.
- Coral symbiosis is crucial, and its breakdown leads to disease and mortality.
- The viral communities within coral holobionts remain largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the viral communities associated with healthy and bleached corals.
- To identify the types and abundance of viruses infecting the coral holobiont.
Main Methods:
- Metagenomic analysis of viral communities.
- Sampling of healthy and partially bleached Diploria strigosa corals.
Main Results:
- Herpes-like viral sequences were unexpectedly abundant (4-8%) in coral metagenomes.
- Viruses resembling those infecting algae and plants were identified.
- Cyanophages and vibriophages were prevalent in both healthy and bleached corals.
Conclusions:
- Coral-associated viruses can infect all components of the holobiont.
- Viruses likely play a significant role in both maintaining and disrupting coral health.
- Further research into coral virology is essential for understanding coral reef health.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Diversity of Protists IV
Amoebozoa represent a diverse group of terrestrial and aquatic protists that utilize lobe-shaped pseudopodia for locomotion and feeding. This characteristic differentiates them from the Rhizaria, which possess threadlike pseudopodia. The primary classifications within Amoebozoa include gymnamoebas, entamoebas, and the plasmodial and cellular slime molds. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that Amoebozoa diverged from a lineage that ultimately gave rise to fungi and animals.Gymnamoebas and...
01:27Diversity of Protists III
Rhizaria are a diverse group of unicellular protists characterized by their threadlike cytoplasmic extensions known as pseudopodia. These structures aid in both locomotion and feeding, giving Rhizaria an amoeboid appearance. Their amoeboid morphology once led to taxonomic confusion, but molecular phylogenetics has clarified their evolutionary placement and emphasized their shared use of pseudopodia despite divergent lineages.This clade comprises diverse lineages such as Chlorarachniophyta,...
01:27Diversity of Protists II
Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...
01:30Marine Microbial Ecology
Marine microbial ecosystems are shaped by distinct physicochemical limits, including high salinity, low nutrient availability, and fluctuating oxygen levels. These conditions favor smaller microbial cell sizes, which maximize their surface-to-volume ratio for efficient nutrient uptake.Microbial activity and community composition are closely linked to biogeochemical cycles, particularly in dynamic environments like estuaries, where halotolerant microbes thrive in response to variable salinity...
01:18Deep Sea Microbial Ecology
The deep ocean and its underlying sediments represent vast, largely unexplored microbial habitats that extend far beyond the sunlit photic zone. The photic (euphotic) zone typically spans the upper ~100–200 meters of pelagic waters in the open ocean, but its depth varies geographically and seasonally, where sufficient light supports photosynthetic life. Below this lies the deep sea, spanning roughly 1000–6000 meters (bathypelagic to abyssal zones), with deeper hadal trenches extending beyond...
01:15Diversity of Protists I
Excavata is a diverse group of protists that includes both chemoorganotrophic and phototrophic species, with some thriving in anaerobic environments. Among the key groups within Excavata are diplomonads and parabasalids, which are flagellated protists that lack mitochondria and chloroplasts. These microorganisms typically inhabit anoxic environments, such as the intestines of animals, where they exist either symbiotically or as parasites, relying on fermentation for energy production. Some...