Evidence for microbially-mediated tradeoffs between growth and defense throughout coral evolution

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Microbial Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Life-history strategies involve evolutionary tradeoffs.
• Animal-microbial symbioses can mediate these tradeoffs by influencing host physiology.
• Scleractinian corals are a suitable model system for studying these interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between coral microbiomes and disease susceptibility across evolutionary history.
• To identify specific microbial symbionts involved in mediating life-history tradeoffs in corals.

Main Methods:

• A cross-species coral microbiome survey (Global Coral Microbiome Project) was conducted.
• Data on coral disease prevalence and traits were combined with microbiome data.
• Phylogenetic context was used to interpret the associations.

Main Results:

• Microbial dominance in coral tissue predicts disease susceptibility.
• The symbiont genus Endozoicomonas was identified as a key factor in this association.
• Endozoicomonas abundance explained significant variation in disease susceptibility and microbiome dominance, and correlated with high growth rates.

Conclusions:

• Coral Endozoicomonas symbiosis evolution is linked to disease prevalence and growth rate.
• Microbial symbioses likely mediate animal life-history tradeoffs.
• Further research into the mechanisms of these microbial influences is warranted.