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Prevalence of potential nitrogen‐fixing, green sulfur bacteria in the skeleton of reef‐building coral I sopora palifera
Author(s) -
Yang ShanHua,
Lee Sonny T. M.,
Huang ChangRung,
Tseng ChingHung,
Chiang PeiWen,
Chen ChungPin,
Chen HsingJu,
Tang SenLin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.1002/lno.10277
Subject(s) - holobiont , coral , anoxygenic photosynthesis , biology , coral reef , ecology , bacteria , reef , botany , phototroph , symbiosis , paleontology
Microbial endoliths, which inhabit interior pores of rocks, skeletons and coral, are ubiquitous in terrestrial and marine environments. In this study, various colored layers stratified the endolithic environment within the skeleton of Isopora palifera ; however, there was a distinct green‐pigmented layer in the skeleton (beneath the living coral tissue). To characterize diversity of endolithic microorganisms, 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon pyrosequencing was used to investigate bacterial communities in the green layer of eight I. palifera coral colonies retrieved from two locations on Green Island, Taiwan. The dominant bacterial group in the green layer belonged to the bacterial phylum Chlorobi, green sulfur bacteria capable of anoxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation. Specifically, bacteria of the genus Prosthecochloris were dominant in this green layer. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide a detailed profile of endolithic bacteria in coral and to determine the prevalence of Prosthecochloris in the green layer. Based on our findings, we infer that these bacteria may have an important functional role in the coral holobiont in the nutrient‐limited coral reef ecosystem.