DAO Diseases of Aquatic Organisms Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials DAO 69:89-94 (2006) - doi:10.3354/dao069089 Contribution to the DAO Special 'Current Advances in Coral Reef Disease Research' Changes in the microbial communities associated with Gorgonia ventalina during aspergillosis infection Diego L. Gil-Agudelo1,*, Carey Myers2, Garriet W. Smith3, Kiho Kim2 1Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (INVEMAR), PO Box 1016, Cerro Punta de Betín, Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia 2American University, Biology Department, Hurst Hall 105, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8007, USA 3University of South Carolina Aiken, Department of Biology and Geology, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, South Carolina 29801, USA *Email: diego.gil@invemar.org.co ABSTRACT: The surface mucopolysaccharide layer (SML) secreted by corals is a rich environment where bacteria live and proliferate, with population levels often being several orders of magnitude higher than in the surrounding waters (at least for culturable microbes). Some studies have suggested that these communities play an important role in energy and nutrient flux in marine environments. We hypothesize that the microbial community structure of the SML also plays a role in protection against disease. This hypothesis is based on studies that have shown differences in the bacterial composition of the mucus of healthy and diseased corals. In this study we tested the differences in the microbial communities living in association with the SML of healthy and diseased Gorgonia ventalina by comparing their metabolic profiles using Biolog EcoPlates. Overall, metabolic profiles of the coral surface microbiota were significantly different to those in the water column based on stepwise canonical discriminant analyses (CDAs). Furthermore, differences between communities living in healthy and diseased corals were also found. Changes were observed between affected and unaffected areas of the same colony, although these changes were not as obvious as between individual healthy and diseased colonies. Results suggest that the microbial communities living in the SML of G. ventalina are affected by the presence of aspergillosis, even if the area is not in direct contact with the infection. This suggests the possibility of changes in the composition of the SML throughout the colony as a response to aspergillosis infection. KEY WORDS: Microbial communities · Aspergillosis · Coral disease · Gorgonia ventalina · Metabolic characterization · Biolog Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in DAO Vol. 69, No. 1. Online publication date: March 23, 2006 Print ISSN: 0177-5103; Online ISSN: 1616-1580 Copyright © 2006 Inter-Research.