Award Abstract # 1442206
Collaborative Research: Dimensions: Coevolution of scleractinian corals and their associated microorganisms

NSF Org: OCE
Division Of Ocean Sciences
Recipient: THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: July 25, 2014
Latest Amendment Date: February 16, 2016
Award Number: 1442206
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Michael Sieracki
OCE
 Division Of Ocean Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: September 1, 2014
End Date: August 31, 2019 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $904,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $908,570.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2014 = $904,000.00
FY 2016 = $4,570.00
History of Investigator:
  • Monica Medina (Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
201 OLD MAIN
UNIVERSITY PARK
PA  US  16802-1503
(814)865-1372
Sponsor Congressional District: 15
Primary Place of Performance: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
PA  US  16802-7000
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): NPM2J7MSCF61
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Dimensions of Biodiversity
Primary Program Source: 01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1650, 7377, 7968, 9117, 9169, EGCH, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 796800
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems on the planet, and provide substantial economic and ecological benefits to coastal communities. Corals are composed of both the Cnidarian animal host and complex communities of unique and underexplored microbial organisms. Today these natural wonders are in global decline, threatened by the intersecting effects of multiple stressors including overfishing, pollution, and climate change. These stressors can alter coral microbial communities in ways that may contribute to the susceptibility of corals to disease or overgrowth by algae. Therefore, understanding the relationships between corals and their microbiota may be useful for efforts to understand coral disease and preserve reef ecosystems. The microbial diversity of coral species in many diverse and ancient groups of corals remains unexplored, but understanding these communities will help to extend the knowledge gained in well-studied corals to diverse reefs worldwide. This project aims to describe microbial diversity across all major groups of reef-building corals in each of several distinct ecosystems across the globe, to determine the genome sequences and metabolic capabilities of key coral bacteria, and to test whether the composition of coral microbial communities helps to explain the overall vulnerability or resistance of different coral species to stress or disease. The project includes plans for maximizing public access, scientific community building, and training opportunities for early-career scientists. The project will fund two hispanic principal investigators, two PhD students, and two postdoctoral researchers in laboratory and field research - and also in key computational techniques for managing "Big Data". Project funds will support an extension of a program of collaborative, multilingual scientific podcasts; establishment of recurring science cafes; K-5 coral reef educational modules tested successfully for incorporation into the curriculum in the State College School District; and educational video segments.

Coral species differ in their susceptibility to bleaching and disease, but these differences are only partially explained by coral phylogeny. Therefore this project will test the extent to which incorporating the microbiota (or their contributed genes) better predicts these and other traits. Recent technological advances have broadened understanding of how complex microbiomes shape the life history, physiology, and evolution of their multicellular hosts (e.g., the human microbiome). The use of newly developed DNA sequencing techniques will allow a more complete exploration of microbial diversity in corals than has previously been feasible, while advanced computational methods will help to maximize the value of sequenced bacterial genomes. Improved predictive models that incorporate both coral phylogeny and microbial function will help inform conservation strategies and yield predictive biomarkers for coral vulnerability to disease or bleaching. Relating the diversity of corals to the diversity of their microbes will also provide important insights into how intimate symbiotic associations with microorganisms arose and are maintained in diverse animals.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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(Showing: 1 - 10 of 13)
Díaz-Almeyda, E.M., Prada, C., Ohdera, A.H., Moran, H., Civitello, D.J., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Carlo, T.A., LaJeunesse, T.C., Medina, M. ( "Intraspecific and interspecific variation in thermotolerance and photoacclimation in Symbiodinium dinoflagellates" Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences , 2017
Díaz-Almeyda, E., Prada, C., Odhera, A.H., Moran, H., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Carlo, T.A., LaJeunesse, T., C., Medina, M. "Within and among species variation in thermotolerance and photoacclimation in symbiodinium dinoflagellates" Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B , v.284 , 2017 , p.20171767 dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1767
Guillemette, R., Kaneko, R., Blanton, J., Tan, J., Witt, M., Hamilton, S., Allen, E.E., Medina, M., Hamasaki, K., Koch, B.P., Azam, F. "Bacterioplankton drawdown of coral mass-spawned organic matter" The ISME Journal , 2018
Guillemette, R., Kaneko, R., Blanton, J., Witt, M., Tan, J., Hamilton, S., Medina, M., Koch, B.P., Hamasaki, K., Azam, F "Marine microbes rapidly turnover coral mass-spawned organic matter in a microcosm study" ISME J , v.12 , 2018 , p.2238 10.1038/s41396-018-0197-7
Hartmann, A.C., Marhaver. K.L., Klueter, A., Lovci, M., Closek, C.J., Diaz-Almeyda, Chamberland, E.V.F., Archer, F.I., Deheyn, D.D., Vermeij, M.J.A., Medina, M. "Temporally coupled symbiont acquisition and metamorphosis in corals: the right-time right-place hypothesis" Molecular Ecology , v.28 , 2019 , p.141 10.1111/mec.14967
JP Rippe, MV Matz, EA Green, M Medina, NZ Khawaja, T Pongwarin, JH Pinzón C, KD Castillo, SW Davies "Population structure and connectivity of the mountainous star coral, Orbicella faveolata, throughout the wider Caribbean region" Ecology and Evolution , v.7 , 2017 , p.9234 10.1002/ece3.3448
Mansoor, J.S., Pollock, F.J. Diaz-Almeyda, E., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Medina, M. "Intra- and interspecific variation and phenotypic plasticity in thermal tolerance of Symbiodinium spp" Coral Reefs , v.37 , 2018 , p.841 10.1007/s00338-018-1710-1
Ohdera, A., Ames, C.L., Dikow, R.B., Kayal, E., Chiodin, M., Busby, B., La, S., Pirro, S., Collins, A.G., Medina, M., Ryan, J.F. "Box, stalked and upside-down? Draft genomes from diverse jellyfish (Cnidaria, Acraspeda) lineages: Alatina alata (Cubozoa), Calvadosia cruxmelitensis (Staurozoa), and Cassiopea xamachana (Scyphozoa)" Giga Science , v.8 , 2019 , p.1 10.1093/gigascience/giz069
Pizarro, V., Rodríguez, S.C., López-Victoria, M., Zapata, F.A., Zea, S., Galindo-Martínez., C.T., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Pollock, J., Medina, M. "Unraveling the structure and compositionof Varadero Reef, an improbable andimperiled coral reef in the ColombianCaribbean" PeerJ , 2017
Pollock, F.J., McMinds, R., Smith, S., Bourne, D.G., Willis, B.L., Medina, M., Vega Thurber, R., Zaneveld, J "Coral-associated bacteria demonstrate phylosymbiosis and cophylogeny" Nature Communications , v.9 , 2018 , p.4921 10.1038/s41467-018-07275-x
Prada, C., Hanna, B., Budd, A.F., Woodley, C., Schmutz, J., Grimwood, J., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Pandolfi, J.,M., Levitan, D., Knowlton, N., Kitano, H., DeGiorgio, M., Medina, M. "Empty niches after extinctions increase population sizes of modern corals" Current Biology , v.26 , 2016 , p.3190 10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.039
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

The Global Coral Microbiome Project (GCMP) has yielded an increased understanding of the role the associated microbial communities in coral holobionts. We now know that the host-algal symbiosis requires the presence of a healthy microbiome for proper functioning where all partners contribute to the metabolic demands of the holobiont. We have also learned that the microbiome may contribute to the response to thermal stress, but this varies across different coral holobionts, a clear understanding of coral-microbiome interactions is therefore critical as we chart the path forward to deal with increasing ocean temperatures. Microbial diversity is vast across the coral phylogeny and not all of it shows coevolutionary patterns, indicating that environmental context is also important.

Once all data are processed, we will have a better understanding of microbial biogeography across all ocean basins at a scale never attempted before. We will also have new insight into the metabolomes of the same species across the entire Pacific Ocean. We have examined coral microbiomes across different health states from bleaching to disease and will be able to shed light onto some of the community dynamics associated with these physiological shifts.

Through the GCMP, we reached multiple indigenous communities that derive their livelihoods from coral reef ecosystems. Their livelihoods are threatened due through anthropogenic activities. Their participation in our research and outreach activities, in particular through the film Saving Atlantis has helped them feel empowered to engage in conservation initiatives to protect their reefs.

 


Last Modified: 03/04/2020
Modified by: Monica Medina

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