Spatial and host-specific structuring in symbiont community composition of an endemic Hawaiian octocoral, (Verrill 1928).

Fuente: PubMed
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Cabell, Erika M, Hunter, Cynthia L
Natura: Artículo científico
Lingua:en
Pubblicazione: PeerJ 2026
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1868266097705222145
author Cabell, Erika M
Hunter, Cynthia L
author_facet Cabell, Erika M
Hunter, Cynthia L
Cabell, Erika M
Hunter, Cynthia L
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Spatial and host-specific structuring in symbiont community composition of an endemic Hawaiian octocoral, (Verrill 1928). Cabell, Erika M Hunter, Cynthia L Animals Hawaii Symbiosis Dinoflagellida Anthozoa Phylogeny Coral Reefs Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by climate-induced bleaching, yet some taxa-like the Hawaiian endemic octocoral -exhibit notable stress tolerance. This study investigates whether distinct color morphotypes (blue and brown) of maintain stable or flexible symbiont associations that might underlie this resilience. Using high-throughput ITS2 sequencing and SymPortal analyses, we characterized Symbiodiniaceae communities across morphotypes on three Hawaiian Islands. Assemblages were overwhelmingly dominated (>99%) by (Clade A), particularly (ITS2 type A3), with blue morphotypes consistently hosting more diverse symbiont profiles. Dinoflagellate community composition varied significantly by morphotype and location, with no ITS2 profile shared across all morphotype-island combinations. Bray-Curtis analyses revealed strong ecological structuring, while UniFrac (a measure of evolutionary relatedness) indicated phylogenetic similarity, suggesting intragenomic or ecotypic divergence within a conserved lineage. Morphotype-specific associations may reflect environmental adaptation or host-symbiont specificity. The greater symbiont diversity in blue morphotypes, coupled with the lack of profile overlap among sites, points to fine-scale host-symbiont structuring shaped by local environmental conditions. These results demonstrate that hosts morphotype- and location-specific Symbiodiniaceae communities within a conserved lineage, revealing fine-scale ecological structuring and potential symbiont ecotypes that may contribute to this species' resilience across variable reef environments. This study supports previous findings that symbiont community structure is shaped by the combined influence of host specificity and local environmental conditions.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_41551468
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher PeerJ
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Spatial and host-specific structuring in symbiont community composition of an endemic Hawaiian octocoral, (Verrill 1928).
Cabell, Erika M
Hunter, Cynthia L
Animals
Hawaii
Symbiosis
Dinoflagellida
Anthozoa
Phylogeny
Coral Reefs
Spatial and host-specific structuring in symbiont community composition of an endemic Hawaiian octocoral, (Verrill 1928). Cabell, Erika M Hunter, Cynthia L Animals Hawaii Symbiosis Dinoflagellida Anthozoa Phylogeny Coral Reefs Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by climate-induced bleaching, yet some taxa-like the Hawaiian endemic octocoral -exhibit notable stress tolerance. This study investigates whether distinct color morphotypes (blue and brown) of maintain stable or flexible symbiont associations that might underlie this resilience. Using high-throughput ITS2 sequencing and SymPortal analyses, we characterized Symbiodiniaceae communities across morphotypes on three Hawaiian Islands. Assemblages were overwhelmingly dominated (>99%) by (Clade A), particularly (ITS2 type A3), with blue morphotypes consistently hosting more diverse symbiont profiles. Dinoflagellate community composition varied significantly by morphotype and location, with no ITS2 profile shared across all morphotype-island combinations. Bray-Curtis analyses revealed strong ecological structuring, while UniFrac (a measure of evolutionary relatedness) indicated phylogenetic similarity, suggesting intragenomic or ecotypic divergence within a conserved lineage. Morphotype-specific associations may reflect environmental adaptation or host-symbiont specificity. The greater symbiont diversity in blue morphotypes, coupled with the lack of profile overlap among sites, points to fine-scale host-symbiont structuring shaped by local environmental conditions. These results demonstrate that hosts morphotype- and location-specific Symbiodiniaceae communities within a conserved lineage, revealing fine-scale ecological structuring and potential symbiont ecotypes that may contribute to this species' resilience across variable reef environments. This study supports previous findings that symbiont community structure is shaped by the combined influence of host specificity and local environmental conditions.
title Spatial and host-specific structuring in symbiont community composition of an endemic Hawaiian octocoral, (Verrill 1928).
topic Animals
Hawaii
Symbiosis
Dinoflagellida
Anthozoa
Phylogeny
Coral Reefs
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41551468/