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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.00900-07
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Detection and Ecological Significance of the Cyanobacteria Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya in Black Band Disease of Corals

Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: Jamie.Myers{at}fiu.edu.

	Abstract

Black band disease (BBD) is a pathogenic, sulfide-rich microbial mat dominated by filamentous cyanobacteria that infects corals worldwide. We isolated cyanobacteria from BBD into culture, confirmed their presence in the BBD community using DGGE, and demonstrated their ecological significance in terms of physiological sulfide-tolerance and photosynthesis vs. irradiance values. Twenty-nine BBD samples were collected from nine host coral species, four of which have not previously been investigated, on reefs of the Florida Keys, Bahamas, St. Croix, and the Philippines. From these samples, seven cyanobacteria were isolated into culture. Cloning and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene using universal primers indicated that four isolates were related to the genus Geitlerinema and three to Leptolyngbya. DGGE results, obtained using cyanobacterial specific 16S rRNA primers, revealed that the most common BBD cyanobacterial sequence, detected in 26 BBD field samples, was related to Oscillatoria. The next most common sequence, 99% similar to Geitlerinema BBD, was present in three samples. One Leptolyngbya and one Phormidium related sequence were also found. Laboratory experiments using isolates of BBD Geitlerinema and Leptolyngbya revealed that they could carry out sulfide resistant oxygenic photosynthesis, relatively rare among cyanobacteria, and that they are adapted to the sulfide-rich, low light BBD environment. The presence of the cyanotoxin microcystin in these cultures and BBD suggests a role in BBD pathogenicity. Our results confirm the presence of Geitlerinema in the BBD microbial community and its ecological significance, which have been challenged, and provide evidence of a second ecologically significant BBD cyanobacterium, Leptolyngbya.