Collaborative Research: Host-environment-pathogen interactions in a model coral disease system

合作研究：珊瑚疾病模型系统中宿主-环境-病原体的相互作用

• 批准号: 0961384
• 负责人: Deborah Gochfeld
• 金额: $ 19.85万
• 依托单位: University of Mississippi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-06-01 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0961384&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Host; environment; pathogen

Diseases of marine organisms have emerged as a serious problem contributing to the decline of coral reef resources worldwide. Loss of coral reef habitats carry social and economic implications especially in island states, such as Hawaii, which depend on reefs for food, shoreline protection and tourism. Our ability to manage coral diseases is hampered by a lack of knowledge of which environmental variables affect disease, mechanisms of host defense, and the etiology of most of the numerous described coral diseases. The PIs of this project discovered a coral disease system that can be used as a model to explore many components of the host-environment-pathogen triangle of disease causation. Montipora white syndrome (MWS) is an infectious disease that results in progressive tissue loss on colonies of Montipora capitata, and has been found on reefs throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. It is particularly prevalent in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, which has a long history of reduced water quality, and this suboptimal environment sets the stage where host-pathogen interactions occur. In Kaneohe Bay, M. capitata is a major reef-building species, and is found in two color morphs (red and orange) that harbor different clades of zooxanthellae. During preliminary surveys, the PIs discovered intraspecific variability in response to MWS between color morphs. Although the red morph was dominant within survey transects (80% of the colonies), the orange morph was disproportionately affected by MWS (70% of the affected colonies). Microbial studies found a shift in bacterial communities on MWS-affected and healthy M. capitata and allowed identification of potential pathogens. Numerous bacterial strains were cultured and screened for pathogenicity and three strains, which produced lesions, were identified as potential pathogens. Two of the putative pathogens (Vibrio spp.) produced diffuse tissue whereas the other bacterial strain (Pseudoalteromonas sp.) produced acute tissue loss. In the field, the PIs also observed two patterns of tissue loss on M. capitata; a slow, chronic pattern of tissue loss, which they followed through time with tagged colonies (chronic MWS), but also a rapid onset of acute tissue loss (acute MWS). Thus they discovered an infectious coral disease that results in significant coral mortality that has the unique component of differences in disease susceptibility among color morphs. The PIs identified three potential bacterial pathogens that will be used to investigate underlying factors affecting the coral-environment-pathogen triad of disease causation. The Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) is located within Kaneohe Bay allowing year-round access to reefs for research on Montipora white syndrome. The goal of this project is to investigate the host- environment-pathogen triangle of disease causation for Montipora white syndrome. The objectives of this research will be to: 1) investigate mechanisms contributing to differential disease resistance in red (less susceptible) vs. orange (more susceptible) morphs of M. capitata. The PIs will compare antimicrobial activity in the holobiont, mucus and mucus-associated bacteria of the two color morphs of M. capitata, and will compare the natural coral-associated microbial flora between the two color morphs; 2) use manipulative aquarium studies to determine whether environmental stressors (elevated temperature, nutrient stress) differentially affect the progression or transmission efficiency of MWS in red vs. orange morphs of M. capitata; 3) use challenge experiments to confirm the role of bacterial pathogens as causative agents of MWS, and to determine the response of red vs. orange morphs of M. capitata to three putative pathogens. This project will involve a multidisciplinary team to provide a broader perspective of coral disease processes. This will be the first comprehensive study conducted on a coral disease in Hawaii.Broader impacts and integration of research/education will consist of multidisciplinary, hands-on research experiences for graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii and the University of Mississippi. Both universities have diverse student bodies and large complements of minority students. The UM graduate student will also have the opportunity to contribute to the fieldwork in Hawaii. Information from this project will be integrated into general biology classes at UH West Oahu and microbiology classes at UH Manoa, both of which serve native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. This project will provide opportunities for undergraduate students from Pacific Islands to experience research through the Undergraduate Research Mentoring (URM) program sponsored at UH. K-12 education will include integration of these results into classes for high school students participating in the PaCES/B-WET Summer Environmental Science Program for high school students coordinated through HIMB each summer. It will also be used for training students through the He'e Nalu, an environmental science program for at-risk youth. In Mississippi, the public will be informed through the Central Gulf of Mexico Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) and J.L. Scott Marine Education Center.

海洋生物的疾病已成为一个严重的问题，导致全球珊瑚礁资源的下降。珊瑚礁栖息地的丧失具有社会和经济影响，尤其是在岛国，例如夏威夷，这些岛屿依靠珊瑚礁的食物，海岸线保护和旅游业。缺乏对环境变量影响疾病，宿主防御机制以及大多数描述的珊瑚疾病的病因的知识，我们管理珊瑚疾病的能力受到阻碍。该项目的PI发现了一个珊瑚疾病系统，该系统可用作探索疾病因果关系的宿主 - 环境 - 疾病三角形三角形的许多组成部分。 Montipora White综合征（MWS）是一种传染病，导致蒙蒂普拉大厦（Montipora Capitata）菌落的进行性组织丧失，并已在整个夏威夷群岛的礁石上发现。它在瓦胡岛的Kaneohe湾尤为普遍，瓦胡岛的水质降低历史悠久，而这种次优的环境设定了发生宿主 - 病原体相互作用的阶段。在Kaneohe湾，M。Capitata是一种主要的礁石建造物种，可在具有不同的Zooxanthellae的两种颜色变形（红色和橙色）中发现。 在初步调查过程中，PIS发现了对颜色变形之间MW的响应的种内变异性。尽管红色变体在调查样品中占主导地位（占菌落的80％），但橙色的变体受到MW的影响不成比例的（占受影响菌落的70％）。微生物研究发现，细菌群落在受MWS影响和健康的M. Capitata上发生了变化，并允许鉴定潜在的病原体。培养并筛选了许多细菌菌株的致病性，三个菌株（产生病变）被鉴定为潜在的病原体。假定的两种病原体（Vibrio spp。）产生了弥漫性组织，而其他细菌菌株（伪骨膜瘤）产生了急性组织损失。在现场，PIS还观察到了大国大分枝杆菌的两种组织损失模式。他们的组织损失的缓慢，慢性模式，随着时间的流逝，标记的菌落（慢性MW）也随着时间的流逝，但也快速发作急性组织损失（急性MWS）。因此，他们发现了一种传染性的珊瑚疾病，导致珊瑚死亡率显着，这是颜色变形之间疾病敏感性差异的独特组成部分。 PIS确定了三种潜在的细菌病原体，这些病原体将用于研究影响疾病因果关系的珊瑚环境 - 环境病原体三合会。夏威夷海洋生物学研究所（HIMB）位于卡诺霍湾（Kaneohe Bay）内，允许全年进入珊瑚礁进行蒙蒂波拉白综合症研究。该项目的目的是研究蒙蒂普拉白综合征的疾病因果关系的宿主环境神奇三角。这项研究的目的将是：1）研究有助于红色（易感性）与M. capitata的橙色（更易感性的）形态的抗差异疾病的机制。 PI将比较大牛肉菌的两种颜色变体的Holobiont，粘液和粘液相关细菌中的抗菌活性，并将比较两种颜色形态之间的天然珊瑚相关微生物菌群。 2）使用操纵水族馆研究来确定环境应激源（升高温度，养分应激）是否会差异地影响M. Capitata的红色与橙色形态中MW的进展或传播效率； 3）使用挑战实验来确认细菌病原体作为MWS的致病药物的作用，并确定Capitata M. capitata对三种推定病原体的红色与橙色形态的反应。该项目将涉及一个多学科团队，以提供更广泛的珊瑚疾病过程的观点。这将是关于夏威夷珊瑚疾病的首次全面研究。Boader的影响和研究/教育的整合将由夏威夷大学和密西西比大学的研究生和本科生的多学科，动手研究经验组成。两所大学都有不同的学生团体和少数族裔学生的大量补充。 UM研究生还将有机会为夏威夷的实地调查做出贡献。该项目的信息将纳入UH West Oahu的一般生物学课程和UH Manoa的微生物学课程，它们都为夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民服务。该项目将为来自太平洋群岛的本科生提供机会，通过在UH赞助的本科研究指导（URM）计划来体验研究。 K-12教育将包括将这些结果集成到参加每年夏天通过HIMB协调的高中夏季环境科学计划的高中学生的课程。它也将用于培训学生He'e Nalu，这是一项针对高危青年的环境科学计划。在密西西比州，将通过墨西哥海洋科学教育卓越中心（Cosee）和J.L. Scott Marine教育中心向公众通报。