{"title":"Nitrate enrichment exacerbates microbiome and metabolism disturbances of the coral holobiont under heat stress","authors":"Huidan Yang , Dongdan Yuan , Zhuojing Zhou , Hongwei Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coral reef ecosystems are facing severe deterioration due to escalating global temperatures and human-induced activities. Combined nitrate and heat stress can exacerbate coral bleaching, however, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, we assessed the bleaching status of <em>Acropora hyacinthus</em>, a reef-building coral species, under high temperature and nitrate stress conditions using chemostat cultivation. We observed nitrate enrichment (9 μM) induced a significant reduction in photosystem efficiency (<em>F</em>v<em>/F</em>m) of <em>Symbiodiniaceae</em> and an increased thermal bleaching of corals under high temperature (30 °C). Nitrate exposure promoted the proliferation of <em>Enterobacteriaceae</em> and <em>Vibrionaceae</em>, which are bacterial families, potentially augmenting the coral's susceptibility to disease while exerting negligible effects on the fungal community. Alterations were observed in the metabolic pathways of both the coral hosts and <em>Symbiodiniaceae</em>, including down-regulated folate biosynthesis and inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels. Our findings indicate that nitrate enrichment under heat stress disrupts the metabolism of coral holobionts through altering bacterial communities, ultimately leading to increased coral bleaching.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18204,"journal":{"name":"Marine environmental research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 107098"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Marine environmental research","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141113625001552","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Coral reef ecosystems are facing severe deterioration due to escalating global temperatures and human-induced activities. Combined nitrate and heat stress can exacerbate coral bleaching, however, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, we assessed the bleaching status of Acropora hyacinthus, a reef-building coral species, under high temperature and nitrate stress conditions using chemostat cultivation. We observed nitrate enrichment (9 μM) induced a significant reduction in photosystem efficiency (Fv/Fm) of Symbiodiniaceae and an increased thermal bleaching of corals under high temperature (30 °C). Nitrate exposure promoted the proliferation of Enterobacteriaceae and Vibrionaceae, which are bacterial families, potentially augmenting the coral's susceptibility to disease while exerting negligible effects on the fungal community. Alterations were observed in the metabolic pathways of both the coral hosts and Symbiodiniaceae, including down-regulated folate biosynthesis and inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels. Our findings indicate that nitrate enrichment under heat stress disrupts the metabolism of coral holobionts through altering bacterial communities, ultimately leading to increased coral bleaching.
期刊介绍:
Marine Environmental Research publishes original research papers on chemical, physical, and biological interactions in the oceans and coastal waters. The journal serves as a forum for new information on biology, chemistry, and toxicology and syntheses that advance understanding of marine environmental processes.
Submission of multidisciplinary studies is encouraged. Studies that utilize experimental approaches to clarify the roles of anthropogenic and natural causes of changes in marine ecosystems are especially welcome, as are those studies that represent new developments of a theoretical or conceptual aspect of marine science. All papers published in this journal are reviewed by qualified peers prior to acceptance and publication. Examples of topics considered to be appropriate for the journal include, but are not limited to, the following:
– The extent, persistence, and consequences of change and the recovery from such change in natural marine systems
– The biochemical, physiological, and ecological consequences of contaminants to marine organisms and ecosystems
– The biogeochemistry of naturally occurring and anthropogenic substances
– Models that describe and predict the above processes
– Monitoring studies, to the extent that their results provide new information on functional processes
– Methodological papers describing improved quantitative techniques for the marine sciences.