MICROBIAL COMMUNITY HERITABILITY IN LARVAE OF THE HAWAIIAN CORAL MONTIPORA CAPITATA
Date
2024
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Volume
Number/Issue
Starting Page
Ending Page
Alternative Title
Abstract
Coral health depends on microbial interactions that support functions such as organic material cycling and disease resistance. Microbial communities in planulae and adult tissues of Montipora capitata were examined in factorial fertilization crosses to investigate the heritability of microbial community characteristics and specific microbial taxa in this common Hawaiian coral. I hypothesized that larval microbiomes would be predicted more by the dam (egg donor) than the sire (sperm donor), consistent with reports of egg-transmitted algal symbionts in M. capitata. A factorial cross of gametes from five parent colonies produced 18 viable sibling families after self-crosses and low viability crosses were removed. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene profiled the composition and diversity of Bacteria and Archaea among adults, seawater, and planulae, defining a consistent microbiome community characteristic of planulae. Taxa found in the seawater were rare to undetected in the larvae suggesting horizontal transmission was low. Significant differences were found among larvae when grouped by either parent, indicating both dam and sire influenced the microbiome of the planulae; siblings were also more similar than half-siblings or unrelated larvae, providing evidence of emergent effects of parental combinations. Results demonstrated parent-specific vertical transmission of specific microbial taxa, highlighting a previously unknown intergenerational effect in this coral species.
Description
Keywords
Biology, Microbiology, coral spawning, holobiont, larvae settlement, microbiome, Montipora capitata, restoration
Citation
Extent
74 pages
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.