Viruses of a key coral symbiont exhibit temperature-driven productivity across a reefscape

Lauren I Howe-Kerr; Carsten G B Grupstra; Kristen M Rabbitt; Dennis Conetta; Samantha R Coy; J Grace Klinges; Rebecca L Maher; Kaitlin M McConnell; Sonora S Meiling; Adriana Messyasz; Emily R Schmeltzer; Sarah Seabrook; Jordan A Sims; Alex J Veglia; Andrew R Thurber; Rebecca L Vega Thurber; Adrienne M S Correa

doi:10.1038/s43705-023-00227-7

Viruses of a key coral symbiont exhibit temperature-driven productivity across a reefscape

ISME Commun. 2023 Apr 3;3(1):27. doi: 10.1038/s43705-023-00227-7.

Authors

Lauren I Howe-Kerr¹, Carsten G B Grupstra^{2

3}, Kristen M Rabbitt^{2

4}, Dennis Conetta², Samantha R Coy^{2

5}, J Grace Klinges⁶, Rebecca L Maher⁷, Kaitlin M McConnell⁸, Sonora S Meiling⁹, Adriana Messyasz¹⁰, Emily R Schmeltzer⁸, Sarah Seabrook^{8

11}, Jordan A Sims^{2

12}, Alex J Veglia², Andrew R Thurber⁸, Rebecca L Vega Thurber⁸, Adrienne M S Correa²

Affiliations

¹ Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA. [email protected].
² Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
³ Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Oceanography, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, USA.
⁶ Mote Marine Laboratory, Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration, Summerland Key, FL, USA.
⁷ Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
⁸ Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
⁹ University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, USA.
¹⁰ Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
¹¹ National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand.
¹² Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.

Abstract

Viruses can affect coral health by infecting their symbiotic dinoflagellate partners (Symbiodiniaceae). Yet, viral dynamics in coral colonies exposed to environmental stress have not been studied at the reef scale, particularly within individual viral lineages. We sequenced the viral major capsid protein (mcp) gene of positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses known to infect symbiotic dinoflagellates ('dinoRNAVs') to analyze their dynamics in the reef-building coral, Porites lobata. We repeatedly sampled 54 colonies harboring Cladocopium C15 dinoflagellates, across three environmentally distinct reef zones (fringing reef, back reef, and forereef) around the island of Moorea, French Polynesia over a 3-year period and spanning a reef-wide thermal stress event. By the end of the sampling period, 28% (5/18) of corals in the fringing reef experienced partial mortality versus 78% (14/18) of corals in the forereef. Over 90% (50/54) of colonies had detectable dinoRNAV infections. Reef zone influenced the composition and richness of viral mcp amino acid types ('aminotypes'), with the fringing reef containing the highest aminotype richness. The reef-wide thermal stress event significantly increased aminotype dispersion, and this pattern was strongest in the colonies that experienced partial mortality. These findings demonstrate that dinoRNAV infections respond to environmental fluctuations experienced in situ on reefs. Further, viral productivity will likely increase as ocean temperatures continue to rise, potentially impacting the foundational symbiosis underpinning coral reef ecosystems.

Abstract

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