Cargando…

First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities

Mucus, i.e., particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM) released by corals, acts as an important energy carrier in tropical ecosystems, but little is known on its ecological role in temperate environments. This study assessed POM and DOM production by the temperate coral Cladocora caespitos...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Fonvielle, J. A., Reynaud, S., Jacquet, S., LeBerre, B., Ferrier-Pages, C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605525/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26466126
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139175
_version_ 1782395216277274624
author Fonvielle, J. A.
Reynaud, S.
Jacquet, S.
LeBerre, B.
Ferrier-Pages, C.
author_facet Fonvielle, J. A.
Reynaud, S.
Jacquet, S.
LeBerre, B.
Ferrier-Pages, C.
author_sort Fonvielle, J. A.
collection PubMed
description Mucus, i.e., particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM) released by corals, acts as an important energy carrier in tropical ecosystems, but little is known on its ecological role in temperate environments. This study assessed POM and DOM production by the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa under different environmental conditions. The subsequent enzymatic degradation, growth of prokaryotes and virus-like particles (VLPs) as well as changes in the structure of the prokaryotic communities were also monitored. C. caespitosa produced an important quantity of mucus, which varied according to the environmental conditions (from 37.8 to 67.75 nmol carbon h(-1) cm(-2)), but remained higher or comparable to productions observed in tropical corals. It has an important nutritional value, as highlighted by the high content in dissolved nitrogen (50% to 90% of the organic matter released). Organic matter was rapidly degraded by prokaryotes’ enzymatic activities, and due to its nitrogen content, aminopeptidase activity was 500 fold higher than the α-glucosidase activity. Prokaryotes, as well as VLPs, presented a rapid growth in the mucus, with prokaryote production rates as high as 0.31 μg h(-1) L(-1). Changes in bacterial and archaeal communities were observed in the ageing mucus and between mucus and the water column, suggesting a clear impact of mucus on microorganism diversity. Overall, our results show that the organic matter released by temperate corals, such as C. caespitosa, which can form reef structures in the Mediterranean Sea, stimulates microbial activity and thereby functions as a significant carbon and nitrogen supplier to the microbial loop.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4605525
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-46055252015-10-29 First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities Fonvielle, J. A. Reynaud, S. Jacquet, S. LeBerre, B. Ferrier-Pages, C. PLoS One Research Article Mucus, i.e., particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM) released by corals, acts as an important energy carrier in tropical ecosystems, but little is known on its ecological role in temperate environments. This study assessed POM and DOM production by the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa under different environmental conditions. The subsequent enzymatic degradation, growth of prokaryotes and virus-like particles (VLPs) as well as changes in the structure of the prokaryotic communities were also monitored. C. caespitosa produced an important quantity of mucus, which varied according to the environmental conditions (from 37.8 to 67.75 nmol carbon h(-1) cm(-2)), but remained higher or comparable to productions observed in tropical corals. It has an important nutritional value, as highlighted by the high content in dissolved nitrogen (50% to 90% of the organic matter released). Organic matter was rapidly degraded by prokaryotes’ enzymatic activities, and due to its nitrogen content, aminopeptidase activity was 500 fold higher than the α-glucosidase activity. Prokaryotes, as well as VLPs, presented a rapid growth in the mucus, with prokaryote production rates as high as 0.31 μg h(-1) L(-1). Changes in bacterial and archaeal communities were observed in the ageing mucus and between mucus and the water column, suggesting a clear impact of mucus on microorganism diversity. Overall, our results show that the organic matter released by temperate corals, such as C. caespitosa, which can form reef structures in the Mediterranean Sea, stimulates microbial activity and thereby functions as a significant carbon and nitrogen supplier to the microbial loop. Public Library of Science 2015-10-14 /pmc/articles/PMC4605525/ /pubmed/26466126 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139175 Text en © 2015 Fonvielle et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Fonvielle, J. A.
Reynaud, S.
Jacquet, S.
LeBerre, B.
Ferrier-Pages, C.
First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities
title First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities
title_full First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities
title_fullStr First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities
title_full_unstemmed First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities
title_short First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities
title_sort first evidence of an important organic matter trophic pathway between temperate corals and pelagic microbial communities
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605525/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26466126
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139175
work_keys_str_mv AT fonvielleja firstevidenceofanimportantorganicmattertrophicpathwaybetweentemperatecoralsandpelagicmicrobialcommunities
AT reynauds firstevidenceofanimportantorganicmattertrophicpathwaybetweentemperatecoralsandpelagicmicrobialcommunities
AT jacquets firstevidenceofanimportantorganicmattertrophicpathwaybetweentemperatecoralsandpelagicmicrobialcommunities
AT leberreb firstevidenceofanimportantorganicmattertrophicpathwaybetweentemperatecoralsandpelagicmicrobialcommunities
AT ferrierpagesc firstevidenceofanimportantorganicmattertrophicpathwaybetweentemperatecoralsandpelagicmicrobialcommunities