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Article
Predictable Changes in Eelgrass Microbiomes with Increasing Wasting Disease Prevalence across 23° Latitude in the Northeastern Pacific
mSystems
  • Deanna S. Beatty, University of California, Davis
  • Lillian R. Aoki, University of Oregon
  • Brendan Rappazzo, Cornell University
  • Chelsea Bergman, San Diego State University
  • Lia K. Domke, University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • J. Emmett Duffy, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
  • Katie Dubois, University of California, Davis
  • Ginny L. Eckert, University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • Carla Gomes, Cornell University
  • Olivia J. Graham, Cornell University
  • Leah Harper, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
  • C. Drew Harvell, Cornell University
  • Timothy L. Hawthorne, University of Central Florida
  • Margot Hessing-Lewis, Hakai Institute
  • Kevin Hovel, San Diego State University
  • Zachary L. Monteith, Hakai Institute
  • Ryan S. Mueller, Oregon State University
  • Bo Yang, San Jose State University
  • For full author list, see comments below, For full author list, see comments below
Publication Date
8-1-2022
Document Type
Article
DOI
10.1128/msystems.00224-22
Abstract

Predicting outcomes of marine disease outbreaks presents a challenge in the face of both global and local stressors. Host-associated microbiomes may play important roles in disease dynamics but remain understudied in marine ecosystems. Host–pathogen–microbiome interactions can vary across host ranges, gradients of disease, and temperature; studying these relationships may aid our ability to forecast disease dynamics. Eelgrass, Zostera marina, is impacted by outbreaks of wasting disease caused by the opportunistic pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae. We investigated how Z. marina phyllosphere microbial communities vary with rising wasting disease lesion prevalence and severity relative to plant and meadow characteristics like shoot density, longest leaf length, and temperature across 23° latitude in the Northeastern Pacific. We detected effects of geography (11%) and smaller, but distinct, effects of temperature (30-day max sea surface temperature, 4%) and disease (lesion prevalence, 3%) on microbiome composition. Declines in alpha diversity on asymptomatic tissue occurred with rising wasting disease prevalence within meadows. However, no change in microbiome variability (dispersion) was detected between asymptomatic and symptomatic tissues. Further, we identified members of Cellvibrionaceae, Colwelliaceae, and Granulosicoccaceae on asymptomatic tissue that are predictive of wasting disease prevalence across the geographic range (3,100 kilometers). Functional roles of Colwelliaceae and Granulosicoccaceae are not known. Cellvibrionaceae, degraders of plant cellulose, were also enriched in lesions and adjacent green tissue relative to nonlesioned leaves. Cellvibrionaceae may play important roles in disease progression by degrading host tissues or overwhelming plant immune responses. Thus, inclusion of microbiomes in wasting disease studies may improve our ability to understand variable rates of infection, disease progression, and plant survival.

Funding Number
ACI-1548562
Funding Sponsor
National Science Foundation
Keywords
  • Labyrinthula zosterae,
  • microbiome,
  • phyllosphere,
  • seagrass,
  • wasting disease,
  • Zostera marina
Comments
Full author list: Deanna S. Beatty, Lillian R. Aoki, Brendan Rappazzo, Chelsea Bergman, Lia K. Domke, J. Emmett Duffy, Katie Dubois, Ginny L. Eckert, Carla Gomes, Olivia J. Graham, Leah Harper, C. Drew Harvell, Timothy L. Hawthorne, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Kevin Hovel, Zachary L. Monteith, Ryan S. Mueller, Angeleen M. Olson, Carolyn Prentice, Fiona Tomas, Bo Yang, John J. Stachowicz
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Citation Information
Deanna S. Beatty, Lillian R. Aoki, Brendan Rappazzo, Chelsea Bergman, et al.. "Predictable Changes in Eelgrass Microbiomes with Increasing Wasting Disease Prevalence across 23° Latitude in the Northeastern Pacific" mSystems Vol. 7 Iss. 4 (2022)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/bo-yang/4/