The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef
Complex microbial communities are known to exert significant influence over coral reef ecosystems. The Talang- Satang National Park is situated off the coast of Sematan and is one of the most diverse ecosystems found off-Sarawak. Interestingly, the Talang-talang reef thrives at above-average tem...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2015
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/1/NO%20135%20The%20Potential%20Roles%20of%20Bacterial%20Communities%20in%20Coral%20Defence%20%28abstract%29.pdf |
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| author | Kuek, Felicity W. I. Lim, Li-Fang Ngu, Lin-Hui Aazani, Mujahid Lim, Po Teen Leaw, Chui-Pin Moritz, Müller |
| author_facet | Kuek, Felicity W. I. Lim, Li-Fang Ngu, Lin-Hui Aazani, Mujahid Lim, Po Teen Leaw, Chui-Pin Moritz, Müller |
| author_sort | Kuek, Felicity W. I. |
| building | UNIMAS Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Complex microbial communities are known to exert
significant influence over coral reef ecosystems. The Talang-
Satang National Park is situated off the coast of Sematan and is one
of the most diverse ecosystems found off-Sarawak. Interestingly,
the Talang-talang reef thrives at above-average temperatures of 28-
30°C throughout the year. Through isolation and identification
(16S rRNA) of native microbes from the coral, the surface mucus
layer (SML), as well as the surrounding sediment and waters, we
were able to determine the species composition and abundance of
the culturable bacteria in the coral reef ecosystem. Isolates found
attached to the coral are related mostly to Vibrio spp., presumably
attached to the mucus from the water column and surrounding
sediment. Pathogenic Vibrio spp. and Bacillus spp. were dominant
amongst the isolates from the water column and sediment, while
known coral pathogens responsible for coral bleaching, Vibrio
coralliilyticus and Vibrio shiloi, were isolated from the coral SML
and sediment samples respectively. Coral SML isolates were found
to be closely related to known nitrogen fixers and antibiotic
producers with tolerance towards elevated temperatures and heavy
metal contamination, offering a possible explanation why the local
corals are able to thrive in higher than usual temperatures. This
specialized microbiota may be important for protecting the corals
from pathogens by occupying entry niches and/or through the
production of secondary metabolites such as antibiotics. The
communities from the coral SML were tested against each other at
28, 30 and 32°C, and were also assessed for the presence of type I modular polyketides synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes which are both involved in the production of antibiotic compounds. The bacterial community from the SML exhibited antimicrobial properties under normal temperatures while pathogenic strains appeared toxic at elevated temperatures
and our results highlight the role of the coral SML bacterial
community in the coral’s defence. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:29:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | unimas-10563 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:29:38Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Springer |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | unimas-105632017-02-03T02:00:59Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/ The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef Kuek, Felicity W. I. Lim, Li-Fang Ngu, Lin-Hui Aazani, Mujahid Lim, Po Teen Leaw, Chui-Pin Moritz, Müller GE Environmental Sciences Complex microbial communities are known to exert significant influence over coral reef ecosystems. The Talang- Satang National Park is situated off the coast of Sematan and is one of the most diverse ecosystems found off-Sarawak. Interestingly, the Talang-talang reef thrives at above-average temperatures of 28- 30°C throughout the year. Through isolation and identification (16S rRNA) of native microbes from the coral, the surface mucus layer (SML), as well as the surrounding sediment and waters, we were able to determine the species composition and abundance of the culturable bacteria in the coral reef ecosystem. Isolates found attached to the coral are related mostly to Vibrio spp., presumably attached to the mucus from the water column and surrounding sediment. Pathogenic Vibrio spp. and Bacillus spp. were dominant amongst the isolates from the water column and sediment, while known coral pathogens responsible for coral bleaching, Vibrio coralliilyticus and Vibrio shiloi, were isolated from the coral SML and sediment samples respectively. Coral SML isolates were found to be closely related to known nitrogen fixers and antibiotic producers with tolerance towards elevated temperatures and heavy metal contamination, offering a possible explanation why the local corals are able to thrive in higher than usual temperatures. This specialized microbiota may be important for protecting the corals from pathogens by occupying entry niches and/or through the production of secondary metabolites such as antibiotics. The communities from the coral SML were tested against each other at 28, 30 and 32°C, and were also assessed for the presence of type I modular polyketides synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes which are both involved in the production of antibiotic compounds. The bacterial community from the SML exhibited antimicrobial properties under normal temperatures while pathogenic strains appeared toxic at elevated temperatures and our results highlight the role of the coral SML bacterial community in the coral’s defence. Springer 2015 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/1/NO%20135%20The%20Potential%20Roles%20of%20Bacterial%20Communities%20in%20Coral%20Defence%20%28abstract%29.pdf Kuek, Felicity W. I. and Lim, Li-Fang and Ngu, Lin-Hui and Aazani, Mujahid and Lim, Po Teen and Leaw, Chui-Pin and Moritz, Müller (2015) The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef. Ocean Science Journal, 50 (2). pp. 269-282. ISSN 2005-7172 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12601-015-0024-2#page-1 DOI : 10.1007/s12601-015-0024-2 |
| spellingShingle | GE Environmental Sciences Kuek, Felicity W. I. Lim, Li-Fang Ngu, Lin-Hui Aazani, Mujahid Lim, Po Teen Leaw, Chui-Pin Moritz, Müller The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef |
| title | The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef |
| title_full | The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef |
| title_fullStr | The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef |
| title_short | The Potential Roles of Bacterial Communities in Coral Defence: A Case Study at Talang-Talang Reef |
| title_sort | potential roles of bacterial communities in coral defence: a case study at talang-talang reef |
| topic | GE Environmental Sciences |
| url | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10563/1/NO%20135%20The%20Potential%20Roles%20of%20Bacterial%20Communities%20in%20Coral%20Defence%20%28abstract%29.pdf |