Beneficial and detrimental fungi within the culturable mycobiome of the Red Sea coral Stylophora pistilatta
The presence of fungi in the coral microbiome is increasingly recognized, yet their potential impact on the holobiont’s health, particularly under stress conditions, remains underexplored. To address this gap, we isolated over 200 strains (predominantly Ascomycota) from the common scleractinian Red Sea coral, Stylophora pistillata. Using conidia from a rare (Stachybotrys chlorohalonata) and a common (Cladosporium halotolerans) fungal symbiont, we investigated their effects on coral fragments maintained at ambient (25°C) and elevated (33°C) sea temperatures. Inoculation with S. chlorohalonata resulted in significant tissue loss, across both water temperature treatments. Conversely, inoculation with C. halotolerans did not result in visible effects at ambient temperature, but mitigated tissue loss at elevated temperature. This protective effect was accompanied by reduced expression of stress-induced peroxiredoxin-6 and Rad51 host genes, yet not that of Hsp70. Additionally, potential algal symbiont photosynthetic efficiency was higher by over 25% in the elevated temperature treatment, concurrent with higher bacterial diversity, including a marked reduction (>3-fold) in the proliferation of Vibrionaceae in the C. halotolerans-treated coral nubbins. These findings reveal the contrasting impacts of fungal symbionts on coral health, highlighting the dual roles of the mycobiome in influencing holobiont resilience under environmental stress.
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Granit, L., Levi, R., Lifshitz, N., Banc-Prandi, G., Zelinger, E., Ronen, B., Kraut-Cohen, J., Naqib, A., Green, S. J., Fine, M., & Yarden, O. (2025). Beneficial and detrimental fungi within the culturable mycobiome of the Red Sea coral Stylophora pistilatta. The ISME Journal. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wraf090
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Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel & The Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences, Rehovot , Eilat 7610001 ,
Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel & The Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences, Rehovot , Eilat 7610001 ,
Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel & The Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences, Rehovot , Eilat 7610001 ,
EPFL
Centre for Scientific Imaging, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Rehovot ,
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel & The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences , Eilat ,
Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center , Rishon LeZion 7505101 ,
Rush Research Bioinformatics Core Facility, Rush University , Chicago, IL ,
Genomics and Microbiome Core Facility, Rush University , Chicago, IL ,
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel & The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences , Eilat ,
2025-05-03
REVIEWED
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