Microbial diseases and coral reefs
Tropical coral reefs harbour a reservoir of enormous biodiversity that is increasingly threatened by direct human activities and indirect global climate shifts. Emerging coral diseases are one serious threat implicated in extensive reef deterioration through disruption of the integrity of the coral holobiont – a complex symbiosis between the coral animal, endobiotic alga and an array of microorganisms. In this article, the authors review the current understanding of the role of microorganisms in coral health and disease, and highlight the pressing interdisciplinary research priorities required to elucidate the mechanisms of disease. They advocate an approach that applies knowledge gained from experiences in human and veterinary medicine, integrated into multidisciplinary studies that investigate the interactions between host, agent and environment of a given coral disease. These approaches include robust and precise disease diagnosis, standardised ecological methods and application of rapidly developing DNA, RNA and protein technologies, alongside established histological, microbial ecology and ecological expertise. Such approaches will allow a better understanding of the causes of coral mortality and coral reef declines and help assess potential management options to mitigate their effects in the longer term.
The role of the environment in coral disease epizootics has been a major focus of investigations because coral reefs are the ecosystem facing the most rapidly advancing threat from climate change. Corals are sessile organisms and have the advantage that individual animals can be tracked in the wild to monitor disease progression. Significant challenges in framing the scale, complexity and natural variability of emerging coral diseases throughout the world’s oceans include a lack of historical baseline data sets and a wide diversity of ecological factors that influence disease patterns on both regional and global scales. Progress has been made to clarify the effects and drivers of coral disease on local and regional scales, and the field continues to refine the methods of coral disease assessment. However, developing a meaningful understanding of the interactions between the environment, the agent and the host is still required.
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Tags: Bacteria, Biology, climate, coral, Environment, Microbiology, Science
