Abstract:
Bacteria are the most abundant and diverse members in coral holobiont; they play an important role in coral health, disease and nutrient supply. Because of the limitation of technology, it waited until two decades ago when PCR, molecular and sequencing techniques being available and some started investigations into the composition of and change in coral bacteria. The development for the study of coral-associated bacteria was much late in Taiwan. In 2006, we established the first laboratory of coral microbiology in Taiwan, and started the study of bacterial composition in corals at Kenting, South Taiwan using traditional cultureindependent molecular cloning technique and Sanger-based sequencing. In 2010, we became the first group in the world to enable detection of temporal dynamics and changes in coral-associated bacterial community using next generation sequencing. After 2016, we identified functions of coral-associated bacteria using genomics, biochemistry and stable isotope approaches. Now we are one of the few, iconic laboratories of coral microbiology in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Our main research was focused on a coral-health-associated bacterial group, called Endozoicomonas, and its interactions with coral hosts or environments. And we also uncovered several Endozoicomonas genomes and identified important metabolic functions and abilities of Endozoicomonas. Over the effort of 15 years, we have stablished the largest laboratory of Endozoicomonas collection in the world. We anticipate investigations into the molecular interactions between Endozoicomonas and coral, and furthermore hope to develop coral probiotics for applications on coral cultivation, health maintenance and restoration.
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