Contrasting microbiomes in deep-sea scleractinian and octocoral species from the South Atlantic Ocean.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of General Microbiology, Paulo de Goes Institute of Microbiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 2Department of Biological Oceanography, Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo, 05508-120, São Paulo, Brazil.
- 3Centre de recherches insulaires et observatoire de l'environnement (CRIOBE), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), 66860, Perpignan, France.
- 4Centre for Marine Science and Innovation & School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, 2033, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- 5Department of Ecology, Environment and Geoscience, Umeå University, SE-90187, Umeå, Sweden.
- 6Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), 23955-6900, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
Deep-sea corals (DSC) are ecologically important, yet their microbiomes' composition, structure, and host specificity remain largely unresolved in the South Atlantic, especially for octocorals. Here, we provide a comprehensive characterization of DSC microbiomes, spanning Hexacorallia (Desmophyllum pertusum, Solenosmilia variabilis) and Octocorallia (Candidella imbricata, three Malacalcyonacea species), collected at ∼710 m depth in the Campos Basin, an active oil- and gas-producing region. Abiotic characterization revealed total hydrocarbon concentrations. Seawater and sediment samples provided further environmental context. Amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA gene), combined with alpha and beta diversity analyses, differential abundance analysis, and indicator species analysis, revealed that each coral species harboured a microbial community structure distinct from the surrounding environment, with host specificity varying along a continuum. Candidella imbricata was the individually resolved coral species with the most specialized microbiome, dominated by Endozoicomonadaceae, the lowest Shannon diversity, the highest intragroup homogeneity, and the largest number of indicator amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs). Desmophyllum pertusum showed no exclusive indicators, overlapping broadly with environmental communities, but selectively enriched the potentially hydrocarbon-degrading family Halieaceae. To our knowledge, these findings establish the first microbial baseline for DSC holobionts in this region, documenting contrasting host-specificity across scleractinian and octocoral taxa.
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BibTeX
@article{hill2026contrasting,
title = {{Contrasting microbiomes in deep-sea scleractinian and octocoral species from the South Atlantic Ocean.}},
author = {Lilian J Hill and Taissa Damasceno and Alessandro N Garritano and Flúvio Modolon and Laenne Medeiros and Caren Leite Spindola Vilela and Gustavo Duarte and Torsten Thomas and Raquel Silva Peixoto},
journal = {Sustainable microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/sumbio/qvag048},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948633},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Contrasting microbiomes in deep-sea scleractinian and octocoral species from the South Atlantic Ocean.
AU - Lilian J Hill
AU - Taissa Damasceno
AU - Alessandro N Garritano
AU - Flúvio Modolon
AU - Laenne Medeiros
AU - Caren Leite Spindola Vilela
AU - Gustavo Duarte
AU - Torsten Thomas
AU - Raquel Silva Peixoto
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Sustainable microbiology
DO - 10.1093/sumbio/qvag048
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948633
AB - Deep-sea corals (DSC) are ecologically important, yet their microbiomes' composition, structure, and host specificity remain largely unresolved in the South Atlantic, especially for octocorals. Here, we provide a comprehensive characterization of DSC microbiomes, spanning Hexacorallia (Desmophyllum pertusum, Solenosmilia variabilis) and Octocorallia (Candidella imbricata, three Malacalcyonacea species), collected at ∼710 m depth in the Campos Basin, an active oil- and gas-producing region. Abiotic characterization revealed total hydrocarbon concentrations. Seawater and sediment samples provided further environmental context. Amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA gene), combined with alpha and beta diversity analyses, differential abundance analysis, and indicator species analysis, revealed that each coral species harboured a microbial community structure distinct from the surrounding environment, with host specificity varying along a continuum. Candidella imbricata was the individually resolved coral species with the most specialized microbiome, dominated by Endozoicomonadaceae, the lowest Shannon diversity, the highest intragroup homogeneity, and the largest number of indicator amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs). Desmophyllum pertusum showed no exclusive indicators, overlapping broadly with environmental communities, but selectively enriched the potentially hydrocarbon-degrading family Halieaceae. To our knowledge, these findings establish the first microbial baseline for DSC holobionts in this region, documenting contrasting host-specificity across scleractinian and octocoral taxa.
SN - 2755-1970
ER -