A study finds that the holobionts--assemblages of viruses, microbes, and their host macroorganisms--of coral and turf algae, which are major algal competitors of corals, interact through a distinct microbiome at the coral-algal interface; machine learning analyses suggest that the outcome of competition between holobionts is determined by the response of the interface microbiome to feeding derived from algal-produced metabolites, providing key insights into ecological interactions at the coral-algal interface, given that several reefs previously dominated by corals have been undergoing a shift toward turf algae dominance.
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Article #19-15455: "A multiomic analysis of in situ coral-turf algal interactions," by Ty N.F. Roach et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ty N.F. Roach, Hawai'i Institute Of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Kane'ohe, HI; e-mail: smokinroachjr@gmail.com
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences