Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia
Abstract Coral-associated microbes have essential roles in promoting and regulating host function and health. As climate change advances and other environmental perturbations increasingly impact corals, it is becoming ever more important that we understand the composition of the microbial communitie...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88231-w |
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| author | Golam Rabbani Lutfi Afiq-Rosli Jen Nie Lee Zarinah Waheed Benjamin J. Wainwright |
| author_facet | Golam Rabbani Lutfi Afiq-Rosli Jen Nie Lee Zarinah Waheed Benjamin J. Wainwright |
| author_sort | Golam Rabbani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Coral-associated microbes have essential roles in promoting and regulating host function and health. As climate change advances and other environmental perturbations increasingly impact corals, it is becoming ever more important that we understand the composition of the microbial communities hosted. Without this baseline it is impossible to assess the magnitude and direction of any future changes in microbial community structure. Here, we characterised both the bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities in four coral species (Diploastrea heliopora, Porites lutea, Pachyseris speciosa, and Pocillopora acuta) collected from Sabah, Malaysia. Our findings reveal distinct microbial communities associated with different coral species tending to reflect the varied life history strategies of their hosts. Microbial communities could be differentiated by collection site, with shifts in Symbiodiniaceae communities towards more stress tolerant types seen in samples collected on the shallow Sunda Shelf. Additionally, we identified a core microbiome within species and a more discrete core between all species. We show bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities are structured by host species and appear to be influenced by host life history characteristics. Furthermore, we identified a core microbiome for each species finding that several amplicon sequence variants were shared between hosts, this suggests a key role in coral health regardless of species identity. Given the paucity of work performed in megadiverse regions such as the Coral Triangle, this research takes on increased importance in our efforts to understand how the coral holobiont functions and how it could be altered as climate change advances. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2090a0a8d4564e1a94a9728e904734f0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-2090a0a8d4564e1a94a9728e904734f02025-02-09T12:34:19ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-88231-wEffects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, MalaysiaGolam Rabbani0Lutfi Afiq-Rosli1Jen Nie Lee2Zarinah Waheed3Benjamin J. Wainwright4Department of Biological Sciences, National University of SingaporeDepartment of Biological Sciences, National University of SingaporeFaculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia TerengganuBorneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia SabahDepartment of Biological Sciences, National University of SingaporeAbstract Coral-associated microbes have essential roles in promoting and regulating host function and health. As climate change advances and other environmental perturbations increasingly impact corals, it is becoming ever more important that we understand the composition of the microbial communities hosted. Without this baseline it is impossible to assess the magnitude and direction of any future changes in microbial community structure. Here, we characterised both the bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities in four coral species (Diploastrea heliopora, Porites lutea, Pachyseris speciosa, and Pocillopora acuta) collected from Sabah, Malaysia. Our findings reveal distinct microbial communities associated with different coral species tending to reflect the varied life history strategies of their hosts. Microbial communities could be differentiated by collection site, with shifts in Symbiodiniaceae communities towards more stress tolerant types seen in samples collected on the shallow Sunda Shelf. Additionally, we identified a core microbiome within species and a more discrete core between all species. We show bacterial and Symbiodiniaceae communities are structured by host species and appear to be influenced by host life history characteristics. Furthermore, we identified a core microbiome for each species finding that several amplicon sequence variants were shared between hosts, this suggests a key role in coral health regardless of species identity. Given the paucity of work performed in megadiverse regions such as the Coral Triangle, this research takes on increased importance in our efforts to understand how the coral holobiont functions and how it could be altered as climate change advances.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88231-wBacteriaCoral triangleBiogeographyMicrobial ecologySymbiodiniaceaeSabah |
| spellingShingle | Golam Rabbani Lutfi Afiq-Rosli Jen Nie Lee Zarinah Waheed Benjamin J. Wainwright Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia Scientific Reports Bacteria Coral triangle Biogeography Microbial ecology Symbiodiniaceae Sabah |
| title | Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_full | Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_short | Effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_sort | effects of life history strategy on the diversity and composition of the coral holobiont communities of sabah malaysia |
| topic | Bacteria Coral triangle Biogeography Microbial ecology Symbiodiniaceae Sabah |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88231-w |
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