There is a new study looking at the impact of chemical compounds that corals release into the water.
The study found that the organic chemical compounds produced through metabolismvary by coral species and that the compounds impact the abundances and compositions of reefbacteria differently.
In the Caribbean, where coral dominance is shifting from hard stony corals to soft octocorals in response to human-caused stressors, this differential release of metabolites from benthic reef organisms is important.
The study shows the importance of benthic exudates for structuring communities on oligotrophic reefs by focusing on the exudates released from abundant stony corals.
Laura Weber, a current information systems associate in WHOI's Marine Chemistry &geochemistry Department, was the lead author of the study.
"As the species composition of these reefs changes, it is likely changing the chemicals that are released on the reef that then will have impacts on the microbial community." Changes in reef structure and species composition can have an effect on the health of the reef. She said that understanding microbes on reefs, how they are functioning, and how they might be contributing to the health of corals and of reefs themselves is an unexplored area.
There is a correlation between the amount of coffee and the amount ofCaffeine.
In order to conduct the study, researchers collected exudates from six species of Caribbean benthic organisms in a lab setting. The researchers were surprised to find that R. textilis released a lot of caffeine.
The study shows that exudates from benthic organisms contribute to the complex pool of metabolites in reef seawater.
According to the study, caffeine production has not been investigated for marine organisms, but that it is a common metabolite produced by land plants. According to the report, these characteristics could contribute to the ability of R. textilis to colonize the Caribbean. There is need for follow-up research to examine the ecological significance of its metabolites on microbes and other reef organisms.
According to Elizabeth Kujawinski, co-author of the paper, this is an important step forward in identifying chemical signals that can help scientists assess reef health. Similar to human health diagnostics, the chemical signals within a reef are closely related to the functions of the symbiotic relationships within reefs. The Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet is based at WHOI and is headed by Kujawinski.
An important implication of the research is that a diverse benthic community helps to contribute to a more diverse metabolite pool.
We want to build a library of what's on the reefs. My dream is to be able to go out to a reef, take a bucket of reef water, screen it for organisms, and be able to tell the health of that environment. It can take months or years to determine if a coral is sick or growing, because current methods are highly visual based. Metabolites and microbes have the potential to be very sensitive.
More information: Laura Weber et al, Benthic exometabolites and their ecological significance on threatened Caribbean coral reefs, ISME Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43705-022-00184-7
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