Studies of coral-associated bacterial communities have repeatedly demonstrated that
the microbial assemblages of the coral host
are highly specific and complex.
In particular, bacterial community surveys of
scleractinian and soft corals from geographically diverse reefs continually uncover a high abundance of sequences affiliated with the Gammaproteobacteria
genus Endozoicomonas.
The role of
these bacteria within the complex coral
holobiont is currently unknown.
In order to localize these cells and gain an
understanding of their potential interactions
within the coral, we developed a
fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)
approach for reef-building coral
tissues.
Using a custom small-subunit ribosomal RNA
gene database, we developed two
Endozoicomonas-specific probes
that cover almost all known
coral-associated
Endozoicomonas sequences. Probe hybridization conditions were quantitatively evaluated against target and
non-target bacterial cultures using fluorescence microscopy. Using these
experimentally tested conditions,
probes were then hybridized to the branching
coral Stylophora pistillata, obtained
from the Red Sea, using whole mount and paraffin embedding techniques.
This study allowed preliminary spatial
exploration and characterization of
Endozoicomonas in coral, which has provided
insight into their functional role and
interactions within the
coral holobiont.
Date of Award | Dec 12 2011 |
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Original language | English (US) |
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Awarding Institution | - Biological, Environmental Sciences and Engineering
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Supervisor | Christian Voolstra (Supervisor) |
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