Rethinking the Coral Microbiome: Simplicity Exists within a Diverse Microbial Biosphere

• DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00812-18
• Publication Date: 2018-10-08T13:23:12Z
• Authors: Alejandra Hernand...; William Leggat; Pim Bongaerts; César Herrera; Tracy D. Ainsworth
• Keywords: 570; 590; microbiome; Microbiology; 03 medical and health sciences; Species Specificity; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Animals; 14. Life underwater; bacteria; Symbiosis; coral; Phylogeny; holobiont; 0303 health sciences; Science & Technology; Bacteria; Host Microbial Interactions; Microbiota; 2404 Microbiology; Genetic Variation; Anthozoa; symbiosis; QR1-502; 2406 Virology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Research Article

We propose that the coral holobiont should be conceptualized as a diverse transient microbial community that is responsive to the surrounding environment and encompasses a simple, redundant, resident microbiome and a small conserved core microbiome. Most importantly, we show that the coral microbiome is comparable to the microbiomes of other organisms studied thus far. Accurately characterizing the coral-microbe interactions provides an important baseline from which the functional roles and the functional niches within which microbes reside can be deciphered.